From beans to business: How one Indonesian coffee farmer changed her future

Ms Endah Yuliawati, a 32-year-old coffee farmer and business owner in West Java, Indonesia, has spent the last three years operating a village shop to supplement her husband’s coffee farming income. While the mother of three is a savvy entrepreneur today, that wasn’t always the case.

According to a 2018 report by the International Coffee Organization, Indonesia has the highest concentration of coffee farmers globally, with women contributing up to 70 per cent of the labour force. However, cultural norms surrounding traditional gender roles continue to place them at a disadvantage.

To help address these challenges, The Starbucks Foundation collaborates with global non-profit organisations such as Mercy Corps, CARE and Lutheran World Relief to empower women and girls in coffee, tea- and cocoa-growing regions of Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. These initiatives focus on developing leadership skills, expanding economic opportunities and improving access to clean water and sanitation.

In 2022, Ms Endah attended a health education training programme organised by Mercy Corps. She was then selected alongside 800 other women to participate in a financial literacy programme also led by Mercy Corps, supported by an Origin Grant from The Starbucks Foundation.

Over the course of a month, she completed five training sessions covering topics such as bookkeeping, pricing, digital marketing, e-commerce strategies and financial management. Equipped with her newfound skills, Ms Endah expanded her business beyond coffee farming – she now sells cascara, a tea made from discarded coffee shells. She cleans and repurposes the shells, packaging them so customers can brew their own cascara at home. Ms Endah also leverages her newly acquired digital marketing skills to advertise her products and expand customer reach.

Ms Endah said: “The programme showed me I can be more than just a woman in the kitchen – I can also run a business.”

CHANGE IS BREWING

Ms Endah is just one of over 600,000 women and girls who have benefited from The Starbucks Foundation’s Origin Grants initiative. With a goal to improve the lives of 1 million women and girls in coffee-, tea-, and cocoa-growing communities by 2030, the programme continues to drive meaningful change. 

In March 2025, the foundation awarded 10 Origin Grants totalling US$4 million (S$5.4 million) to non-profit partners. These new projects are expected to support 75,000 women across eight countries in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Among the initiatives funded by these grants are programmes focused on empowering women in Vietnam’s and Indonesia’s coffee-growing communities. 

In North Sumatra, Mercy Corps and Lutheran World Relief are leading two separate projects aimed at improving the livelihoods of some 13,700 women. Participants receive financial and business training while also gaining improved access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam’s Son La region, CARE is working with 1,500 ethnic minority women, equipping them with financial and business skills to enhance coffee production and improve their overall well-being.

REDEFINING THE ROAD AHEAD

For women like Ms Endah, gaining business skills has opened doors to better economic opportunities, setting them up for long-term success. “Before I participated in this programme, it was hard for me to earn money,” she said. Now, she not only supports her children’s and younger siblings’ education but also reinvests in her store.

“Through our Origin Grants programme, we are proud to work with non-profits across the world to uplift women in coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities with a goal to create opportunities and, ultimately, improve lives through the empowerment of women,” said Ms Kelly Goodejohn, Starbucks’ chief social impact officer and executive director of The Starbucks Foundation.

“While we are committed to contributing positively to every community, we know that when we invest in a woman, there are ripple effects and favourable outcomes for her family and the larger community.”

Learn more about how The Starbucks Foundation's Origin Grants is driving change for women and girls in coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities around the world.