MISSION

Building Pathways for Smallholder Women Coffee Farmers to Thrive

Bean Voyage

Bean Voyage supports women farmers across the value chain.

We’re a vibrant, diverse team of passionate folx working together to support coffee-growing communities. Our team reflects a variety of perspectives and experiences, all rooted in a deep commitment to creating positive change in the world.

Our Founders’ Story

In 2012, Sunghee and Abhi met at Earlham College. Shaped by their Quaker education and a shared belief in equity and community-led change, they began collaborating on social impact initiatives. From co-leading student government to building an early childhood program in Kenya, mobilizing earthquake relief efforts for Nepal, and helping build a community center in Costa Rica, they were united by a desire to challenge systems that left communities behind.

It was in Costa Rica that they met Ericka Mora and her family — coffee producers who welcomed the two backpackers into their home. Around kitchen-table conversations, Ericka shared her vision for a more just and sustainable coffee industry. She did not want to continue accepting a status quo that undervalued farmers’ labor and knowledge.

Moved by her clarity and conviction, Sunghee and Abhi began imagining a different model — one built alongside producers, not for them. They launched Bean Voyage with an inaugural cohort of 16 women coffee farmers, spending months hosting workshops, building market access, and co-designing solutions. What began as a small, relationship-driven experiment has since grown into a full-service model supporting women producers to strengthen their businesses, leadership, and livelihoods.

Every program we run — the four pillars of our work — has grown organically from the voices of women farmers themselves, and we are grateful to them for allowing us to be a part of this journey.