logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
27m 13s

Born into coffee

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Inheriting a family business can be a tall order. All the more so when it's a coffee business, where men have traditionally dominated the sector in many countries that produce one of the world's most popular beverages. While women have a crucial role to play in an industry that supports 25 million rural households across the globe, they're often under-represented at the highest level.

Kim Chakanetsa hears from two women who've broken the mould. Heleanna Georgalis is the president of Moplaco Trading in Ethiopia, a company she took on when her father died in 2008. When she arrived, the system of trading coffee in the country was turned on its head, and she was forced to make changes to secure the future of the company.

Ana María Donneys from Colombia inherited a coffee producing company from her grandfather when she was only in her mid-twenties. As the first woman to lead the company, and the first to export their specialty coffee, she's overcome numerous challenges to succeed in a highly volatile market.

Both women discuss the future of coffee in the context of climate change, and how women can play a role.

Produced by Fiona Clampin

(Image: (L) Ana María Donneys, courtesy of Laura Victoria Usma Salazar. (R) Heleanna Georgalis, courtesy of Imran Mazar.)

Up next
Nov 24
Weavers reviving an ancient technology
<p>Across continents and generations, the art of weaving has connected humans for thousands of years. But it’s dying out. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two women from The Netherlands and Turkey about their passion for preserving the traditional craft.</p><p>Turkish social entrepreneu ... Show More
26m 28s
Nov 19
Women at the forefront of medical research
<p>After the discovery of a new gene therapy for Huntington's, a devastating brain disease, Datshiane Navanayagam talks to one of the women in the UK who worked on it and a biologist from India who's made recent discoveries that could improve treatment for TB, which still kills o ... Show More
26m 29s
Nov 10
Behind the smiles of artistic swimming
Artistic swimmers are known for making perfect synchronicity look effortless. Datshiane Navanaygam talks to athletes from Spain and Slovakia to reveal why the sport is far tougher than it appears. Silvia Solymosyová from Slovakia was the first artistic swimmer to reach 1 million ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2022
SMNTY Classics: Bro-rista Coffee Culture
Since it first began its westward expansion in the 16th century, coffee has been a distinctively male drink. Even today, while plenty of women work behind the coffee counter, many wonder whether a bro-rista culture continues to dominate the rapidly expanding specialty coffee indu ... Show More
42m 41s
Feb 2014
Bro-rista Coffee Culture
<p>Since it first began its westward expansion in the 16th century, coffee has been a distinctively male drink. Even today, while plenty of women work behind the coffee counter, many wonder whether a bro-rista culture continues to dominate the rapidly expanding specialty coffee i ... Show More
37m 12s
Dec 2019
Coffee
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history and social impact of coffee. From its origins in Ethiopia, coffea arabica spread through the Ottoman Empire before reaching Western Europe where, in the 17th century, coffee houses were becoming established. There, caffeinated customers ... Show More
55m 11s
Dec 2019
Coffee
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history and social impact of coffee. From its origins in Ethiopia, coffea arabica spread through the Ottoman Empire before reaching Western Europe where, in the 17th century, coffee houses were becoming established. There, caffeinated customers ... Show More
55m 11s
May 2022
القهوة السعودية (2)
في هذه الحلقة نستعرض أنواع البن وأهم العوامل التي تؤثر على القهوة عند زراعتها وحصادها، وكيفية  قياس جودة القهوة ... كما سنتعرف على أنواع تحميص القهوة وأبرز القصص وراء ابتكار بعض أنواع القهوة. وفي ختام الحلقة نسلط الضوء على حجم الإنتاج السعودي للقهوة ومستقبل تجارة البن محلياً وعال ... Show More
46m 40s
Jun 2019
El Milagro del Café (The Coffee Miracle)
Since he was a kid, Tito Vargas has dreamt of having his own coffee plantation. It’s a dream his parents tried very hard to dissuade him from pursuing because they knew first-hand the uncertainty and hardship of the coffee trade. But Tito persisted, and he too would learn of the ... Show More
23m 48s
Sep 2021
Polar opposites & coffee
Guys, I think it's time we catch up. So, let's get a bit personal. In the first half of this episode of Thick & Thin, I share stories about my current dating roster and express the varying lifestyle choices of being in your mid-to-late-twenties. While during the latter, I reveal ... Show More
40m 43s
Dec 2019
The Art and Heritage of Coffee in the Arabian Gulf with Khalid al Mullah (24.12.2019)
It’s a special episode for the coffee lovers as we take a look at the art, the culture and the history of the birthplace of the world’s favourite drink, with a special exhibition that is taking place at Sharjah Heritage Museum. Sally sat down with the coffee master who curated th ... Show More
37m 9s