Federica Pellegrini is the 2023 face of Women in Coffee.
Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini, widely considered one of swimming’s all-time global greats, epitomises the project’s vision of providing tangible support and inspiration to women around the world.
The Project
Women in Coffee is Caffè Vergnano’s women-focused social sustainability initiative created by CEO Carolina Vergnano, and launched in 2018.
Women in Coffee, in collaboration with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, was founded with the aim of supporting women working in small coffee plantations.
Every year, together with the IWCA, we select a concrete project to support, a new chapter of a story where coffee is at the forefront. But not only, Women in Coffee, today also embraces other projects in support of women, thus becoming a broader path of social sustainability, a meeting of shared values that speak of female empowerment, inclusion and sustainability.
Why
Empowerment
Inclusion
Respect
Chapters
Chapter 1
Dominican Republic
In 2019 we ran a fundraising program to buy a roasting machine and start a micro-roasting lab managed by 20 women in Hondo Valle County, Dominican Republic.
Chapter 2
Honduras
Our second fundraising, started in 2021, led to the creation of a library for the community of Cual Bicicleta in Marcala, Honduras.
The “Family Rural Library”, which was completed in the summer of 2023, is a gathering place for women to achieve their full potential, for children to study, learn and have fun and for families to come together. Additionally, members of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance can use the library as a meeting place.
Chapter 3
Honduras
The ongoing fundraising will allow a further development of the project in Honduras: we will provide them with the equipment for the library, we will build a café with an outdoor space and a local Academy for training. These facilities will allow us the opportunity to support didactically the community who will gather at the library as well as to give them further tools for both professional and personal growth.
Chapter 4
Guatemala
Grafting in response to Climate Change
The practice of grafting coffee plants in Guatemala has become increasingly widespread as a response to climate change and the challenges it brings to coffee cultivation. Root grafting is a precision technique performed manually, and Guatemalan women are often involved in this process.
Chapter 5
Dominican Republic
Going back to where it all started…in Dominican Republic, to when Women in Coffee realized its first dream by donating a coffee roaster to a community of female farmers. Today, that dream is fueled by the work of those women who, thanks to Women in Coffee, have started a small business called TIOLA and have begun selling roasted coffee. Due to the increased demand, the small roaster we donated is no longer able to meet the growing volumes.
Next steps
In 2024, our dream is to construct a ‘bridge’ of dialogue and exchange with women involved in the coffee industry. For this reason, we aim to ‘send traveling’ our training center, the Accademia Vergnano, based in Chieri, to all the countries participating in the project. We plan to establish small Academies to support these women and their communities, thereby investing in their future.
I have a suitcase full of dreams; Women in Coffee is one of them. Like all dreams, they must be nurtured, cared for, and grown with passion and dedication.
CEO Caffè Vergnano
Federica Pellegrini
Olympic champion
Federica Pellegrini
for Women in Coffee
Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini epitomises the project’s vision of providing tangible support and inspiration to women around the world. The positive values associated with both her personal and professional experiences, alongside her commitment to integration, female empowerment and gender equality, chime perfectly with Caffè Vergnano’s own “pink vision”.
Our Sustainable Dream in Pink
Watch the video
How to support the Project
Pink Collection
Women in Coffee fundraising program supports small communities of female workers on coffee plantations and other social sustainability projects focused on women. The project-dedicated Women in Coffee blend and pink collection items sold online and in WIC Cafès all over the world contribute to the project proceeds.
Horeca
Women in Coffee gets behind the counter with a tailor-made offer including a coffee selection, the merchandising and the equipment to serve blends of possibilities, contributing to project proceeds.
Pennika
The Pink Collection features new items from the collaboration between the illustrator Pennika and Caffè Vergnano. The artist’s tribute to Women in Coffee tells the story of women and how they face everyday struggles with irony and the right amount of caffeine: just like Women in Coffee project, Pennika’s illustrated items support female coffee farmers.
Women Food Library
The Women Food Library project was born from a conversation between friends: that is when Angela Frenda, Food Editor of Corriere della Sera, and Carolina Vergnano, CEO of Caffe Vergnano, joined forces to create a food library dedicated to women. The Women Food Library in the Accademia Vergnano in Chieri aspires to be the largest of its kind.
CADMI and Telefono Rosa
Every November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Women in Coffee stands in solidarity with the victims of abuse by donating the profits from the day, and the Pink Collection proceeds to organizations like Telefono Rosa [Pink Phone] and CADMI [Casa delle Donne Maltratte or Home for Mistreated Women].
A Coffee with…
A Coffee with... is a project designed to promote female leadership and a culture of inclusion among Caffè Vergnano’s and CCHBCI's employees. It involves interviewing inspiring women from various organizations and donating all proceeds from the meetings to Women in Coffee.
Funtasia
In 2020 we launched a training course for educators and students in middle and secondary schools in collaboration with Funtasia Digital. This course explored new methods of promoting social-emotional well-being and fostering positive relationships, focusing on diversity and empathy between genders.
