Punga Café: Feminist roasting shop stolen on Women’s Day – 03/19/2024 – Café na Prensa

A coffee roasting company in São Paulo formed by women and dedicated to selling only beans grown by women farmers was broken into and equipment was stolen in the early hours of International Women’s Day.

On the morning of March 8, upon arriving at the room where Punga’s headquarters are located, in the basement of a property on Avenida Pedroso de Morais, in Pinheiros, in the west zone of São Paulo, partner Elis Bambil was shocked.

The door had been broken into, the place had been ransacked, and several pieces of equipment had been stolen.

According to Bambil, the criminals took everything from electronics, such as television and precision scales used in coffee preparation courses, to utensils, such as ceramics suitable for barista competitions – which are expensive.

According to the calculations of the owners of the micro roasting plant that has only been in existence for six months, the loss is around R$10,000.

As it is a small company with little time on the market, Punga had to ask for help from customers to get back on its feet. Therefore, it launched a virtual campaign in which consumers can contribute amounts starting from R$15 and earn rewards. Anyone who supports R$40, for example, will be entitled to a 250 g package of coffee.

Punga is a roasting and specialty coffee school founded by Bambil and Keiko Sato. In addition to supplying coffee shops, it also sells coffee packets to the end consumer.

The company’s entire project is aimed at valuing the role of women in the production chain. The beans are produced by women farmers, and the coffees are sold with the names of women who were important to the development of the sector or to the lives of the members.

The company’s name itself is a tribute to Maria Emília Vieira, known as Punga, a black woman who sold coffee and delicacies in the center of São Paulo in the 19th century.

“The idea is basically to pay homage and bring these coffee women to light,” says Bambil. “We know that it is still not an equal space, where we often do not have the same voice as men.”

In fact, the sector is still heavily dominated by men. Large coffee manufacturers in Brazil have white men in key management positions. In the field, the reality is no different. Data from the 2017 Agricultural Census, from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), show that, in a universe of 5.07 million rural establishments, 4.11 million (81.3%) are managed only by men.

As part of the Todas initiative, Folha offers women three months of free digital subscription.

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