When Coffee, Storytelling, and Women’s Voices Meet

Under the Athenian sky, coffee became more than a beverage—it became a bridge between cultures, histories, and lived experience.

In a special evening hosted in Athens, a conversation unfolded between Colombian author Carlos Ospina and journalist and IWCA Greece member Vasileia Fanarioti. Together, they opened a window into stories that travel from Colombia to Greece—stories of smallholder coffee farmers, families, women, memory, and culture.

Drawing from his book El Andariego: Relatos Cafeteros, Carlos Ospina invited the audience into the world of Colombian coffee producers through literary narratives that weave together reality and imagination. His storytelling reminded us that coffee is not only grown and traded—it is lived, remembered, and carried forward through human experience.

The evening also created space for reflection closer to home. IWCA Greece shared the first findings from its research on women in the Greek coffee sector, grounding the global conversation in local realities and reinforcing the importance of visibility, data, and voice.

This meaningful gathering was made possible with the support of the Embassy of Colombia in Rome, the Honorary Consulate General of Colombia in Greece, the Instituto Cervantes Athens, and Nespresso Business Solutions Greece.

Stories like those shared by Carlos Ospina remind us why narrative matters. Storytelling connects experiences across borders. It carries memory. And it strengthens the voices of women—locally and globally—within the coffee community and beyond.