Ibu Rahmah’s dad was a coffee farmer and trader. So was her grandfather. And her great-grandfather. Since coffee came to the Gayo Highlands in 1908, it has become deeply embedded in both family tradition and the local economy. So, for Ibu Rahmah, Chairwoman of the Koperasi Pedagang Kopi (KOPEPI) Ketiara cooperative, coffee is much more than a morning beverage. It is integral to her community’s identity.

The Gayo Highlands are in the Central Aceh region of Sumatra, an island of Indonesia. The landscape is shaped by the presence of coffee farms, coffee warehouses and coffee factories. Ibu Rahmah recalls, “From a young age, I observed the processes of planting, caring for, harvesting and processing coffee. Every day after school I used to visit our coffee [farm] nearby. Red coffee beans even became my favorite candy as they tasted sweet.”

Upon graduating high school, Ibu Rahmah joined her parents in the coffee business, and throughout her career, she has used coffee as a force for pushing the needle on gender equality. She notes, “In my parents’ era, women stayed at home raising the kids, sweeping the floor, doing laundry, and cooking. I want all women in Central Aceh to be independent–equal with men.”

With Ibu Rahmah as their chairperson, KOPEPI is a woman-led cooperative–and nearly 40% of its formal membership is comprised of women. Ibu Rahmah reflects that prior to KOPEPI’s founding, “I saw that women in the Gayo Highlands only stayed at home waiting–waiting for their husbands’ earnings. So, by joining the cooperative and Fairtrade, we routinely gather with other women.” Her words gesture towards the truth that we are more powerful–economically, socially and environmentally–when we come together in our efforts at justice.

One thing that’s unique about KOPEPI is that the cooperative doesn’t rely on a middleman to export their coffee. Rather, they draw upon Ibu Rahmah’s notable status as one of the only woman coffee traders in Central Aceh and retain a greater share of their hard-earned profits. They export 70% of their coffee beans to the United States. The remaining 30% of exports go to France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.

Names are powerful. So, it catches our attention that the Gayo word “tiara” means “to exist.” It’s an apt testament to the centrality of coffee in the lives of the members of the KOPEPI Ketiara Cooperative.