Granos De Cafe Para La Paz: Women at the Forefront of Peace Efforts in Colombia
By Katherine Ronderos, President of WILPF section in Colombia
A coffee cultivator testing coffee beans as a part of a new project by WILPF Colombia (Photo: WILPF Colombia)
The peace process in Colombia has demonstrated a significant “good practice” in bringing women to the table and including women’s rights issues in the Peace Agreement between the Colombian Government and the guerrilla group FARC-EP. However, peace is not a paper but a process, and this is just one step. Continued action is critical for peace in Colombia, especially on women’s participation and rights, where women human rights defenders face ongoing and particular threats.
As part of its work to strengthen local women in local peacebuilding, LIMPAL (WILPF Colombia) started the project “Women Coffee Farmers Build Peace in Three Regions Affected by Conflict in Colombia” with several of its partners. This initiative promoted peace by building networks of local women, including survivors and ex-combatants, through economic empowerment around coffee cultivation and capacity-building on women’s rights and Women, Peace and Security issues. The initiative bridged economic justice and gender analysis with campesino/rural women, whose rights and power have been ignored, toward women’s work to achieve long-lasting and sustainable peace.
Read more about WILPF Colombia’s coffee project here>>>