July Photo of the Month: Women Farmers Through A Lens of Their Own
Our monthly photo series highlights the beauty and emotion in the lives of our clients around the world. This month, we’re featuring photos taken by women farmers in Peru, as part of an initiative to document their lives and perspectives.
Women in Peru contribute significant time and labor to farming, but reap fewer of its benefits relative to men. While some obstacles include a lack of access to equipment, financing, and markets, others include restrictive gender norms that limit women’s decision-making power.
In 2023, over 1,300 women coffee farmers in Peru began working with TechnoServe to improve their leadership and business skills. As part of this initiative, several dozen women received cameras to capture moments of their lives. They later discussed the images with each other, identifying common themes and concerns. This helped them build their self-confidence and self-expression, strengthening their position within their household and community.
The photos below are just three of the many images the women produced with these cameras, reflecting the world through their eyes.
PHOTO 1: “Mujer Luchadora” (Woman Fighter)
“I grew up in a home where machismo existed, where the woman only had the option, maybe, to do household chores, and the man couldn’t, supposedly because he was a man. So I grew up seeing that.”
“When machismo exists, one might fear taking on a role even in the home. At home, you see yourself and say, ‘No, the one leading is the man, I can’t.’ But after receiving the training, where they said that women can, I said, ‘I’m going to try.’”
“And look–now I keep good accounts at home, and I can lead my household.”
– Lila Tocto Padilla
PHOTO 2: “Amor Infinito” (Infinite Love)
“Before the workshops…the woman always seemed to be in second place. But after the workshops, we see that women are important.”
“And I feel proud as a woman, because thanks to my effort, I am achieving what I have set out to have. I had dreamed of working in the field, getting our coffee, and from there, selling the coffee to buy our livestock.”
“I also have two girls that I need to educate; I have to work for them. The last dream I have is to see my daughters in a professional career, if they want to study. That is my last dream.”
–Maria Chugnas
PHOTO 3: “Gracias a Mi Madre, Aprendí a Trabajar y a Salir Adelante” (Thanks to My Mother, I Learned to Work and to Move Forward)
“Coffee cultivation is very nice because you mostly get distracted in the field. You go to cultivate, and day by day, you see the crops and the plants progressing more and more, and eventually, the time comes to harvest it.”
“It was very nice because, at the beginning, we couldn’t do anything, not even speak, or conduct ourselves around; we were embarrassed. But through these trainings, we can finally express ourselves and move forward.”
–Marleny Mateo Sayago
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