The origin: Listening to the protagonists (2019)
To understand the policy’s success today, we must look back in time. This policy was designed to address historical gaps: the invisibility of women’s work, labor overload and their limited access to productive resources and decision-making authority. The goal wasn’t merely to implement support measures; it was to create a formal instrument for equity and development.
The drafting of this document, which began in 2019, did not take place behind closed doors. It was a deeply participatory process led by the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (AMUCAFE), the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE), the National Coffee Council (CONACAFE) and development cooperation organizations. Through working groups and regional consultations, the authentic voices of women farmers and young people were prioritized, ensuring the policy was responsive to the realities of the sector.
The policy represents an opportunity to fulfill human rights due diligence. It is versatile enough to be adopted by both large corporations and cooperatives, while also contributing to their certification processes.
Melissa López, gender specialist
A regional milestone: From approval to action (2021)
The year 2021 marked a turning point: Honduras became the first coffee-producing country to approve a sector-wide gender policy. More than just a document, it established a roadmap with four clear strategic pillars:
- Institutional strengthening: Equipping coffee institutions and public/private organizations to work with a gender and social inclusion lens.
- Rights and resources: Promoting the right to resources with justice and equal opportunities, benefits and services for women and coffee-growing young people.
- Empowering leadership: Strengthening the leadership of women and young people to guarantee effective and equitable participation in decision-making spaces.
- Stakeholder integration: Uniting value chain actors and international cooperation to promote gender equality and equity.
This policy serves as a strategic guide for everyone from exporters to cooperatives, facilitating actions aligned with sustainability certifications, human rights due diligence and key regulatory frameworks.
Field deployment: Taking the theory to the farm
A policy document alone cannot reach its full potential. Therefore, following its approval, the focus shifted to Honduras’s six coffee-growing regions. Training workshops and awareness sessions were held to strengthen women’s leadership and promote their active participation in the value chain.
A guiding manual was created to strengthen understanding of women’s property rights. These resources address issues such as marriage, inheritance, customary use and agrarian reform, tackling one of the most critical gaps in the sector.
“This policy reminds us that when women and youth are recognized and heard, the entire coffee sector moves forward with greater strength and hope. At Rikolto, we have seen how their leadership transforms entire communities. Equity is the path toward a more human and resilient coffee industry.”
Francisco Avilez, Technical Advisor, Sustainable Coffee and Cocoa Program, Rikolto Honduras
The inter-institutional Gender Roundtable: The engine of continuity
A recent and vital milestone for sustainability has been the creation of the Coffee Subsector Inter-Institutional Gender Roundtable. This forum coordinates government entities, women’s organizations, cooperatives, the private sector, academia and technical allies to monitor the implementation of the policy’s action plan.
Key achievements include:
- Strengthened gender committees.
- Women trained in land and territorial rights.
- Positioning AMUCAFE as the national benchmark for women in coffee.
- Strategic presence in national forums and expos for policy advocacy.
Impact: Honduras as a global benchmark
Today, Honduras’s experience is viewed as an international gold standard. The Gender Roundtable has been invited to share its coordination model at strategic events such as Coffee Connect. A technical group from Brazil is now drawing on this model to develop its own national policy, while the initiative has also informed the regional cluster effort led by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
One of the most tangible recent outcomes is an agreement with the National Agrarian Institute. Under the umbrella of this policy, they plan to launch a pilot program to facilitate land access for women coffee farmers, translating policy into real ownership.
The challenge for the coming years will be to ensure these advances translate into concrete, sustainable results by strengthening inter-institutional coordination and ensuring the active participation of women and young people throughout the entire value chain.