The Philippine Coffee Board, Inc.. (PCBI) works
to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable coffee value chain in the
country by supporting local farmers and entrepreneurs, especially women, who
play an active role in the coffee supply chain.
In celebration of Women’s Month, PCBI is honoring the contribution
of women in strengthening the Philippine coffee industry by creating a special
blend aptly called, The W Blend.
The W Blend is specialty coffee sourced from
women producers throughout the country.
This was made possible through PCBI’s partnership with the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) Strengthening Urban Resilience for
Growth with Equity (SURGE) project, supporting women MSMEs in eight (8)
secondary cities to accelerate economic recovery in this time of pandemic. This partnership activity is under the Women
Global Development and Prosperity (WGDP) initiative of the United States
government.
Through the WGDP initiative, PCBI and
USAID-SURGE conducted a series of training webinars on coffee quality standards
and flavor development that provided a venue for women coffee producers to
learn best practices and techniques that will help improve coffee quality and economic
viability. Through USAID-SURGE, PCBI was
able to connect to women coffee producers who have viable coffee produce but
lacked the opportunity to access new markets. PCBI celebrates these women
coffee producers and the women who worked on this project in this special
commemorative blend.
The W Blend represents the “women in the coffee supply chain,”
emphasizes Tomoko Nagase of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA)
Japan in a recent IWCA event. From women farmers to women roasters and now the
W Blend will be available in cafes run by women, such as Commune in Makati
City, Torogan Kape and Milestone Coffee in Cagayan De Oro City, and Dennis
Coffee Garden in Zamboanga City. “It truly represents women in the value chain
of coffee,” adds Chit Juan, President of PCBI.
Other
cafes supportive of the “women in coffee” initiative are Coffee Brewtherhood in
Iloilo City and Dennis Coffee Express in Cagayan de Oro. These coffee shops will sell the special
commemorative blend for a limited time or while supplies last
For more information, log on to the social
media accounts of the participating coffee shops or visit www.philcoffeeboard.com.
