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From agency to empowerment: women farmers’ experiences of a fairtrade coffee cooperative in Guatemala

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  • Bilfield, Alissa
  • Seal, David
  • Rose, Diego

Abstract

Through the feminization in agriculture over the last decades, more women have been taking on formal roles in cash crop agriculture, including as members and leaders in cooperatives. Yet minimal research has sought to understand the dynamics of women’s participation based on their own accounts. This paper explores the lived experiences of Mayan women coffee cooperative members in the Western Highlands of Guatemala through their own perspectives. Two visual participatory research methods were combined with semi-structured interviews to generate grass-roots level perspectives on complex social and behavioral phenomena within this difficult to reach population. This study finds that through women's formal participation as cooperative members, they not only gain enhanced access to critical resources and improve their food security, but also develop agency at the individual level and become empowered through the institutional structure of the cooperative and its link to a larger federation.

Suggested Citation

  • Bilfield, Alissa & Seal, David & Rose, Diego, 2020. "From agency to empowerment: women farmers’ experiences of a fairtrade coffee cooperative in Guatemala," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 338763, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea21:338763
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.338763
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Solava Ibrahim & Sabina Alkire, 2007. "Agency and Empowerment: A Proposal for Internationally Comparable Indicators," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 379-403.
    2. Alsop, Ruth & Heinsohn, Nina, 2005. "Measuring empowerment in practice: structuring analysis and framing indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3510, The World Bank.
    3. Malika Abdelali‐Martini & Jennie Dey de Pryck, 2015. "Does the Feminisation of Agricultural Labour Empower Women? Insights from Female Labour Contractors and Workers in Northwest Syria," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 898-916, October.
    4. Deepa Narayan, 2005. "Measuring Empowerment : Cross Disciplinary Perspectives," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7441.
    5. Sen, Amartya, 1999. "Commodities and Capabilities," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195650389, Decembrie.
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