Coffee has given us power to act': Coffee cooperatives and women's empowerment in Rwanda's rural areas: A case study of Karaba coffee cooperative

Cooperatives bring socio-economic benefits to their members through combining forces with others. Worldwide, it is estimated that there are around 800,000 cooperatives which provide affordable products and services and access to resources (UNDESA, 2014). Cooperatives create opportunities and promote income generating activities for many communities by providing goods and services through their daily activities. They provide medical care, access to markets, and job creation. Apart from enabling their members to access economies of scale, cooperatives help to enhance the status of their members to voice their needs and challenges in the community.
Access to resources helps cooperative members to improve the quality of life by enhancing social and economic empowerment of women. It is in this context that Karaba coffee farmers joined their organization in order to address their social and economic problems. Cooperatives have empowered their members by creating jobs and other advantages. The potential contribution of women empowerment in development and poverty reduction is supported by global institutions such as the World Bank and other development practitioners. Cooperatives are used as engines of development in homesteads and agricultural activities (Gibson, 2005; UNDESA, 2012). Rwanda’s paid labour force employed as casual workers in agriculture sector and other informal sector constitute 97.3 per cent of active persons with very low salaries (Ansoms, 2008; Birchall, 2003). In addition to housework, most of the women in Rwanda’s coffee producing zones are involved in coffee production. The major concern of this study is to assess the role of cooperatives in empowering rural women in Karaba. The study aims at answering the following questions: (i) To what extent has Karaba coffee cooperative contributed to social and economic empowerment of women? (ii) What is the impact of women empowerment on Rwanda’s rural households?