Bengaluru to host WCAI Coffee Santhe for women empowerment

Rasika Tulaskar, trainer in coffee brewing at Kaapi Machines, Poornima Jayaraj, Secretary, WCAI, Sunalini Menon, Immediate Past President, WCAI, Sanghya Yadav, sensory analyst (coffee) and Omana Chethan, Coffee grower and industry expert, at a media conference at Press Club of Bangalore on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: special arrangement

The Women’s Coffee Alliance-India (WCAI), the India chapter of the California-based The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) on Thursday said it would host a three-day Coffee Santhe at Freedom Park in Bengaluru from March 21 to 23.

Coffee Santhe serves as WCAI’s primary fundraising event aimed at empowering thousands of women who work on coffee plantations across the country. Karnataka accounts for over 70% of the country’s coffee production while Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and northeastern states Meghalaya and Nagaland contribute the rest.

Sunalini Menon, director, Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and coffee quality expert, said the proceeds from the santhe would go to support various welfare projects focused on women, education of their daughters, nutrition and supplement requirements, skill development, including learning English, and addressing mental and physical care of women workers who are old, sick, or retired.

“Through Coffee Santhe, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of supporting programmes for women coffee plantation workers and their daughters to bring hope and happiness into their homes,’‘ Ms. Menon said.

WCAI worked with the entire coffee ecosystem in the country, ranging from plantations and coffee beans to coffee machines and coffee retailing, with a single focus on impacting the lives of women working on coffee plantations, she further said.

Addressing a media conference, Poornima Jairaj, Secretary, WCAI said, the santhe would highlight brewing skills through brewing championships, a variety of coffee beans and brews, new coffee products, demonstrations of coffee equipment, coffee quiz, and competitions. “This year, the focus will be on Arabic, an aromatic and flavourful bean,” she said.

According to Ms. Jairaj, the event would also showcase opportunities for coffee entrepreneurs and cafes to showcase their products, the art and science of brewing coffee, and coffee from different origins. There will also be a cupping event, allowing producers to have their coffee evaluated by buyers and professionals.