The Impact
Improving Farmers’ Earnings
Our Theory of Change
Access → Agency → Earnings
We increase access to training, capital, and markets; strengthen women’s agency within households and value chains; and translate both into sustained income gains.
By the Numbers
89%
report increased confidence managing their businesses
77%
report improved resilience and ability to navigate challenges
156.9
tonnes of coffee sold
$1.5M
in farmer income earned through market connections
Leibniz Centre Impact Study
An independent qualitative study published in Sustainable Development examined the impact of Bean Voyage’s women-only coffee program in Costa Rica’s Zona de Los Santos. Through in-depth interviews with 13 participants across different stages of business development, researchers found that empowerment increased progressively with program participation—shifting from individual capacity-building to collective leadership and structural influence.
The study found that early-stage participants experienced significant gains in self-efficacy, confidence, and technical knowledge (“power within”), alongside improved household decision-making. As women advanced, they strengthened business skills, access to resources, and market engagement (“power to”), including launching micro-mills, registering coffee brands, and entering national and export markets. Long-term participants demonstrated strong collective leadership (“power with”), serving in community groups and acting as role models, while beginning to exercise local influence (“power over”) within their households, businesses, and peer networks.
Importantly, the research concludes that empowerment through Bean Voyage evolves from individual knowledge accumulation to self-governed community initiatives—indicating a shift toward collective, structural transformation rather than short-term economic gains alone.
MEET ERICKA
Ericka Mora is a co-owner of E&F, an artisanal coffee farm in Costa Rica — and a quietly unstoppable entrepreneur.
When she joined Bean Voyage in 2017, she was harvesting 150 fanegas but processing only 10 herself. The rest went straight to a third-party buyer. She had the farm. She didn't yet have the knowledge, the market, or the confidence to do more with it.
That changed.
Through Bean Voyage's training, Ericka learned to process her own coffee — how to store it properly, identify defects, and manage quality at every stage. Small things, she might say. But small things compounded. "All the trainings have helped me improve year after year."
Today she processes 50 fanegas and sells 45 quintales — a fivefold increase in what she brings to market on her own terms. Seventy-five percent goes to national cafés and clients she built herself. Twenty-five percent goes through Bean Voyage for export. Her net income is approximately 2,500,000 colones annually.
But the number that matters most to Ericka isn't a price or a volume. It's this: she built a family business. Her own. "Without Bean Voyage," she says, "I would have handed everything to a micro-beneficio and never had my own business."
She doesn't call herself a leader. She shows up, contributes, and keeps going. Year after year since 2017 — that quiet consistency is exactly what thriving looks like.
Results
COFFEE SOLD
~2,070 kg annually across national and export markets
ANNUAL INCOME
~$22,500 (at ~$500 per 46kg bag)
INCOME GROWTH
~$18,500 increase year-on-year
ROI
~5.6x vs. pre-BV baseline
Peer Influence
In 2021, we partnered with Ericka and four members of our Costa Rican cohort to co-create a participatory documentary about her journey, in collaboration with Needle + Frame. What unfolded was a year-long creative process led by Ericka herself — she filmed her daily life, wrote the script, shaped the narrative, contributed to the editing, and ultimately premiered the film at the first Women-Powered Coffee Summit.
Watch the film.
Ericka’s story shows that a modest investment (~$350/year) generates long-term, sustained economic and social returns.
Our vision
100,000 women coffee farmers by 2030.
DELIVER
Direct-to-Farmers | 2000 farmers trained, funded, and connected to markets
CATALYZE
Business-to-Business | 5000 farmers supported through peer organizations that are trained and professionalized
INFLUENCE
Sector-wise adoption | Shift norms to reach 930K producers in Latin America