A member of the Shuar nationality explaining to the volunteer Leslie Cosgrove and the field coordinator the roles and responsibilities that she has in her family and in the work of the farm.

On October 15^th, the NCBA CLUSA Farmer-to-Farmer team celebrates International Day of Rural Women and their work to support rural women's empowerment. The Farmer-to-Farmer team understands that strengthening agricultural systems in rural areas depends not only on technological advances but also on a solid social structure that promotes women's inclusion and empowerment.

Two clear examples of this approach are the organizations Asociación de Producción de Cacao y Derivados Aromas del Sur (ASOPROMAS) in Ecuador and Cooperativa Agropecuaria Nuevo Edén Limitada (COARENE) in Honduras, where they have addressed gender, youth, and social inclusion through training with a strong component on environmental preservation and the value of productive chains.

In Ecuador, ASOPROMAS is an association dedicated to Nacional fine aroma cacao production, used to create the finest and most sought-after chocolates in the world. This association is characterized by the interest of the board of directors in maintaining a close relationship with its members, who are actively involved in the association's activities. Currently, ASOPROMAS' influence extends to the Zamora Chinchipe province and also has members of another sister province (Morona Santiago), which allowed them to increase its membership from 80 to 150 members in less than a year.

ASOPROMAS first received training on gender and social inclusion in 2023, which opened their eyes to how gender and social inclusion impact the members themselves and their families. This created greater awareness and interest in this issue. As a result, ASOPROMAS created gender committees within their cooperative to create a space for women to exercise leadership power and incorporate their unique interests and needs. This approach was particularly successful through the involvement of Shuar indigenous communities, especially young people in cacao production, as they are the cultural and productive heritage of the area.

In Honduras, COARENE is a cooperative that produces and processes Fairtrade, organic, and sustainable coffee that is exported to the United States and Europe. They also focus on the socio-economic development and environmental management of their communities through the implementation of grants and collaborations with external and national partners, aimed at promoting the adaptation and resilience of coffee producers and their cooperatives to mitigate climate change.

In 2022 Farmer-to-Farmer guided COARENE in creating an internal gender policy to incorporate gender and youth-related issues in the cooperative. This included raising awareness among all members about the benefits of women's inclusion in the agricultural sector. After promoting an inclusive mindset in the overall membership, COARENE is now including gender equity, youth, and social inclusion (GYSI) in all their environmental and agricultural projects.

In NCBA CLUSA's most recent assignment, Farmer-to-Farmer contributed to the development of a gender analysis, an intersectionality analysis, and a rapid Peace and Conflict analysis as a baseline to understand the challenges and opportunities to create an inclusive plan for strengthening resilience to climate change in coffee production systems in the Opalaca Biological Reserve. During this assignment Farmer-to-Farmer Honduras trained more than 80 people in GYSI in local communities and water boards, highlighting the importance of women in decision-making processes, management, and protection of drinking water sources in protected areas.

These initiatives, led by Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Leslie Cosgrove, took place in two protected geographical areas: the Amazon in Ecuador, and the Opalaca Reserve in Honduras, ultimately promoting long-term sustainability in cacao and coffee, two key sectors for national development.

The gender and inclusion approach in these agricultural cooperatives demonstrates how communities can thrive when rural women are given tools and power to contribute to agricultural production and resource management.

The leaders of the association talking to the members about what they would like the gender committee of ASOPROMAS to cover.

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