From October 1 through October 15, Equal Origins publishes one story a day from a woman who grows coffee or cocoa, fifteen in all, each in her own words and her own photographs. Ascension is raising a cup alongside them, and we'd love for you to do the same.
Follow the campaign · Shop women-produced coffee
How Ascension has worked with Equal Origins
Equal Origins has spent a decade working to create greater opportunity and recognition for women across the coffee value chain, pushing on the factors that decide whether a farm succeeds: access to land, to resources, to income, and to leadership. Kindred Sparks is the community they've built around that work, bringing together individuals, companies, and nonprofits from across coffee and cocoa. Ascension has supported it for years, and you can learn more about Equal Origins on our partners page next to Grounds for Health, SANA, and Project Alianza.
Raise Your Cup is the newest campaign to come out of that community, created to recognize, uplift, and invest in the women who farm the coffee and cocoa the rest of us depend on. Jessica Keenan, our President and Head of Coffee, signed on because of what a story can do once it reaches someone: "By sharing their stories, we can foster a deeper appreciation for the people at the heart of our global food system and inspire meaningful support for their future."
Pictured: Jessica, our President and Head of Coffee with Fátima Ismael of SOPPEXCCA, and Kimberly Easson, founder of Equal Origins.
How it ties to the way we buy coffee
Nearly every coffee on our menu is women-produced, and building a menu that way has taken years of patient work. Women farmers frequently have less access to resources and markets and less say in what their coffee finally sells for, so sourcing this way means seeking out the cooperatives, exporters, and producer groups working to change that, and committing to those relationships with women farmers for the long term.
About Kindred Sparks
Kindred Sparks is a community that Equal Origins made to recognize, uplift, and invest in the women who farm the coffee and cocoa we all enjoy. Jessica describes it as a community initiative that "connects consumers and industry partners with the real people behind their coffee and cocoa" through storytelling, advocacy, education, and collective action. It spreads the way most good things do, which is that someone invites you, and then you invite two more.
Raise Your Cup is its first campaign, timed to 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer and closing on October 15, the International Day of Rural Women. Each woman completes her own profile, chooses her own photographs, and signs off before anything goes live, so every story is told with her rather than about her.
How you can join in on the campaign
Follow @EqualOrigins to catch the stories as they post, and share the ones that resonate with you, tagging #RaiseYourCup and #IYWF2026. Keep an eye on @ascensioncoffee for what we're pouring and hosting throughoutOctober. “Every story shared spreads recognition of the people behind coffee and cocoa while building greater awareness and support for women in agriculture”, says Jessica.
Who shapes the future of coffee for women
"As a woman-led company, we know who leads and has the opportunity to lead, matters," Jessica says. "Women have always played an essential role in coffee. It's time for women to have the opportunity, recognition, and influence to shape the future." That includes "looking beyond the coffee and exploring more deeply who has access to resources, financial gain, and leadership opportunities."
No single company can resolve what runs across an entire industry, and she doesn't claim otherwise. "We can be intentional about our own actions. How we buy matters. Who we partner with matters. Who has a voice matters. We're committed to help build a coffee future where more women have a voice, more people have opportunity, and those who make coffee possible can help shape what comes next."
Shop women-produced coffee · Meet the fifteen women