WPCS 2024 recap: A Celebration of Small Businesses & Women in Coffee!
Cover Photo by Sol Sphinx
At Bean Voyage, we have been working with incredible smallholder women coffee farmers across regions of Mexico, so it felt right to host the 2024 Women Powered Coffee Summit in one of Mexico's Pueblos Mágicos, Cordoba. Over 200 guests flew in from around the world to join us for four days in October 2024 to celebrate women in coffee! The days were filled with inspirational talks, engaging workshops, and memorable cultural experiences, converging the beauty of the backdrop in Ex-Hacienda Toxpan with the buzz of the coffee world.
Groundbreaking Women Coming Together
Each year, WPCS has a different theme, but the core message remains: creating an inclusive space for women in coffee to come together and share their experiences, views, and advancements. Industry experts, including groundbreaking roasters, resilient founders, and visionary producers, are linked up in Cordoba, making WPCS 2024 an electric summit!
As Sunghee Tark, one of the co-founders of Bean Voyage, shared at the opening ceremony, "This space is created for sharing stories and connecting over conversation. The focus is improving everything for everyone with a safe space to inspire new ideas and build lasting connections."
And that's exactly what we did! See the Full Agenda Here.
Inspirational Speeches Full of Hope
Marcelline hugging a producer, Rosalba who shared her story on stage / Photo by Sol Sphinx
Each day, we were lucky enough to have some incredible speakers take to the stage to share their stories, opinions, and lessons from their time in the coffee industry. There were powerful moments, such as when speaker Marcelline Budza of Rebuild Women’s Hope, who works with women farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, invited audience members to share the stage and tell their stories of challenges and triumphs. There were tears, laughs, and an electric atmosphere. These moments of honesty and vulnerability are at the heart of WPCS.
During each talk and panel, women in different positions in the industry shared innovative solutions and concepts with the audience, such as Niki Lewis, Sustainability Officer at Bext360, explaining how blockchain allows producer-powered transparency, and Kat Melheim from Roaster Kat, giving insights into how content creation can further coffee education.
Each speech created an opportunity to bridge knowledge gaps and share resources with the dozens of women in the audience. As Sierra Yeo, a world-class barista champion, said during a panel talk, "Education isn't just for consumers; it's for you,” addressing to everyone in the audience from across the coffee value chain. “Part of what you learn will advance our coffee community and its longevity."
During the Cupping Workshop hosted by TWICE, an initiative led by Amaris Gutierrez-Ray, Giselle Barrera, and Stephanie Welter-Krause / Photo by Sol Sphinx
An Opportunity to Learn Together
In addition to the diverse topics covered through speeches and panels, we did something a little different this year! On each full day, four consecutive workshops ran, creating an opportunity for participants to learn new skills, brush up on existing knowledge, and network with others. From mobile photography with Jenn Chen to an Intro to Cupping with Sandra Loofbourow from Loupe Coffee Consulting, and processing workshops led by Gloria Hernandez and Samuel Ronzon from La Joya Coffee - we were grateful to have such talented experts sharing their knowledge.
We wanted to utilize the summit to create opportunities for cross-cultural understanding and sharing of new advancements around coffee processing, cupping, and brand storytelling. Each workshop and talk created a space where people from different backgrounds, countries, and positions could come together to learn without social boundaries.
Producer Maria de Jesus in front of the CQI’s photo booth / photo by Iva Alvarado
The Coffee Community Came Together
It was a unique chance for different communities within the coffee industry to join forces. The Coffee Quality Institute was a key partner that sponsored ten producers from the region to attend, providing them with a unique experience to delve deeper into learning about the coffee value chain.
The Speciality Coffee Association’s Andres Montenegro and Laurel Carmichael hosted their first in-person workshop on Equitable Value Distribution, which created a space for thought-provoking discussions and insights about what gender equality in coffee means.
We saw the power of uniting and how it gave way to conversations that aren't always had or prioritized.
A WPCS Full of Firsts!
During Dr. Erika Koss’ class on Gender in Coffee hosted prior to WPCS / Photo by Sol Sphinx
This was the first time WPCS was hosted in Mexico. The venue, Ex Hacienda Toxpan, provided the perfect backdrop for the summit; as a sugar mill built in 1690 and now an event venue, it mirrored the change we hope to see in the coffee industry: to go from something with colonial roots to an industry that evokes freedom. So, it was fitting that nestled in one of the old courtyards was the Ideas Marketplace, which allowed participants to share new business ideas, including getting feedback on coffee, tea, and other products.
On day one, the much-anticipated Gender in Coffee class by Dr. Erika Koss, a researcher and educator, was held at El Museo del Café. Erika traveled from Kenya to lead this thought-provoking session, highlighting women's significant but often overlooked role in coffee in the context of decades of institutional research.
This was her first time sharing her course with the world. It was followed by her talk on the main stage on day three, sharing more about the gendered dynamics of the coffee industry and why more up-to-date data is needed to broadly acknowledge the "invisible hands" that help sustain coffee production. As Erika reminded us, "Coffee depends on women, but coffee still belongs to men."
Unforgettable Shared Moments
Each day brought an opportunity to connect with others through beautiful moments, such as the 5k run around Cordoba to kick off day two and the Resilient Emotional Workshop led by Que y Como on day three. Throughout the summit, elements of Mexican culture were woven in to honor and appreciate the rich tapestry of local traditions. We were lucky enough to experience traditional dance performances by local dancers during the happy hour and closing ceremony and enjoy delicious meals from tacos to pambazos, which explored the culinary delicacies of Mexico and, more specifically, Veracruz.
The crew that joined the 5k run on Day 2 early morning! / Photo by Ivana Chan
(L-R) Marcelline, Cristina and Iva / photo by Sol Sphinx
We are deeply appreciative of each person who took the time to attend WPCS and everyone who supported us in other ways, from sponsoring to volunteering. We know that there is still much work to do to create an equitable coffee industry, but we hope that every participant of WPCS walked away with warm memories, new contacts, and maybe a spark of inspiration to take forward so we can all keep striving for justice and fairness.
We hope to see you next year!
WPCS will return to Mexico in October 2025.
Learn more about the event here.
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Blog written by Amina Katana
