In the wake of the recent earthquake in Colombia, our thoughts are with the communities, families, and coffee-growing regions affected. Moments like these are a powerful reminder of the vulnerability and resilience of the people at the heart of Colombia's coffee industry — and of the importance of supporting their well-being not only in times of crisis, but every day.
For happy®, that belief is central to our work. We believe a stronger, more sustainable coffee industry must prioritize the people who make it possible. Colombia is a country where we source a great deal of our coffee, and it's a place we care about deeply. That's why we're proud to support SANA, an innovative mental health and wellness program created specifically for women coffee farmers in Colombia.
We recently spoke with SANA founder Lucia Bawot about the experiences that inspired her to create the organization, the unique pressures facing women in coffee-growing communities, and why mental well-being deserves a place alongside environmental and economic sustainability in the future of coffee.
How SANA began
Mel: You spent many years working in coffee before launching SANA. Can you tell us a little about your background and how the organization began?
Lucia: I have worked in the coffee industry for the past 13 years. I began as a storyteller and photographer, documenting the lives of coffee-growing families and helping share their experiences with a broader audience.
Over the years, I photographed and interviewed more than 500 coffee families. But a major turning point came while I was working on my 2023 book, We Belong, which documented the lives of 62 women coffee farmers and workers in Colombia.
The conversations became much deeper than I had anticipated. At times, they almost felt like therapy sessions. There was no strict agenda, so the women began sharing parts of their lives, experiences, and emotions that they had rarely — or sometimes never — been invited to speak about out loud.
I realized that many of these women had never been asked these kinds of questions before. They did not have a dedicated space to process what they had experienced or discuss how they were feeling.
That made the lack of mental health and wellness resources in these communities impossible to ignore.
We created a pilot program to see whether women would be receptive to this kind of support. The response was incredibly positive, and the program had a meaningful impact. That proof of concept ultimately led to the formal creation of SANA.
How SANA and happy® connected
Mel: Our organizations came to this work from different directions, but there is a real parallel in our journeys. We both recognized that mental health matters throughout the coffee supply chain — not only for consumers, but also for the people growing and producing coffee.
How did you first connect with happy®?
Lucia: I was researching mental health initiatives in the coffee industry and my searches turned up very little, until one day when I came across a LinkedIn post and blog you had written. I had to reach out!
I contacted you because I could see such a strong alignment between what happy® was building and what we were preparing to launch through SANA. Both organizations understood that mental health is a human issue and that the people at the farm level cannot be left out of that conversation.
Why the focus on women coffee farmers
Mel: SANA focuses specifically on women coffee farmers. Why is it so important to design this work around their experiences?
Lucia: Women may represent as much as 70% of the labor performed on coffee farms. They are involved in picking coffee, processing it after harvest, drying it, sorting it, and completing many other essential tasks.
But their work does not stop at the farm.
Women are also frequently responsible for nearly all household labor, including childcare, cooking, cleaning, and caring for family members. During peak harvest, some women may be cooking for 50 to 100 workers in addition to completing their regular responsibilities.
This creates what we describe as a profound "poverty of time." There is very little time available for rest, reflection, or self-care.
Women in rural communities may also face a heightened risk of conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. In Colombia, decades of armed conflict have disproportionately exposed rural women to violence, displacement, grief, and trauma.
Through our work, we often see challenges related to low self-esteem, a limited sense of self-worth, difficulty communicating assertively, and a lack of tools for identifying and regulating emotions.
These women carry an extraordinary amount of responsibility, but they have historically been given very few resources to support their own well-being.
(This work builds on themes we explored in our International Women's Day post on the women behind our coffee.)
Reducing the stigma around mental health
Mel: Mental health can still carry significant stigma, particularly in communities where formal services have rarely been available. How does SANA introduce the program in a way that feels approachable?
Lucia: Our work is preventative, and we tend to use the language of wellness and well-being rather than leading with the term "mental health."
In many communities, "mental health" is immediately associated with illness. People may assume that psychological support is only for someone experiencing a severe crisis or diagnosis.
We want women to understand that caring for their emotions is part of everyday care.
One analogy we use is that people take a shower to clean their bodies, but they also need a place to process and "clean" the emotions and experiences they accumulate each day.
The goal is to normalize the idea that everyone deserves private space to reflect, grieve, build confidence, and develop skills that make it easier to navigate life's challenges.
What participating in SANA looks like
Mel: What does participating in SANA actually look like?
Lucia: SANA is a five-month, fully virtual mental health and wellness program.
Participants are identified through partnerships, and we begin by reconfirming each woman's interest and commitment. The first phase includes two introductory calls. These conversations allow us to build trust, better understand each participant's needs, collect baseline data, and match her with the psychologist who may be the best fit.
Each woman then receives two individual telecounseling sessions with a licensed psychologist.
The counseling is supported by short, accessible educational content that we develop in-house and share regularly throughout the program. The content reinforces themes and skills such as self-esteem, grief, emotional awareness, assertive communication, and healthy coping strategies.
After the initial sessions, psychologists identify approximately 20% of participants who may benefit from additional support. Those women receive three more one-on-one sessions.
The program concludes with a group workshop that brings the full cohort together. The themes are informed by recurring topics that emerged during the private sessions.
One of the most powerful things that happens during these workshops is that the women begin recognizing changes in one another. They may tell another participant that she seems more confident, is communicating differently, or appears more willing to speak up.
That peer recognition can be incredibly affirming.
What happens after the five-month program
Mel: What happens after the five-month program ends?
Lucia: We did not want women to complete the program and suddenly lose access to support.
Approximately 95% of participants choose to join SANA Global, our ongoing virtual community. Through SANA Global, women continue receiving monthly wellness content and remain connected to the broader network.
We are also developing SANA 2.0, which will provide more advanced programming and continued skill development for women who have completed the initial experience.
Well-being is not something that can be addressed once and then considered complete. The women's needs continue to evolve, and our programs need to evolve with them.
How SANA measures success
Mel: How do you define and measure whether the program is working?
Lucia: Success is multi-layered.
One important measure is completion. We aim to have more than 90% of participants complete the program. We also look at whether women feel that they have made progress toward their individual goals.
In addition to qualitative feedback and participant testimonials, we use a proprietary SANA index to measure change over time.
The index includes 10 indicators across three main categories: general well-being, assertive communication, and agency and emotional awareness.
We collect information at the beginning and end of the program so we can evaluate how participants' experiences have changed.
For example, we have seen a 40% increase in the average score for the indicator "confident in expression."
That kind of data helps us understand whether women are not only enjoying the program, but also developing practical tools and experiencing measurable changes in how they see themselves and communicate with others.
Mental well-being and the future of coffee sustainability
Mel: The coffee industry often talks about sustainability in terms of farming practices, climate, or economic resilience. Where does mental well-being fit within that conversation?
Lucia: Coffee without people is nothing.
We cannot talk about a sustainable future for coffee while ignoring the mental and emotional well-being of the people producing it.
Farmers face enormous uncertainty. They are managing climate change, fluctuating coffee prices, unpredictable harvests, labor pressures, and financial instability. These stressors are not temporary — they are embedded in the work.
Mental fitness gives people tools to navigate that uncertainty. It helps them communicate, make decisions, manage stress, and recover from difficult experiences.
Investing in women's mental well-being is also an investment in gender equity. When women gain confidence, communication skills, and a greater sense of agency, they are better equipped to become leaders within their families, farms, and communities.
The industry has made important progress in areas such as environmental stewardship. Farmer well-being must be treated with the same level of seriousness.
(That belief drives our own mission, too. Every purchase of our Little Victories microlot supports the Mental Health Coalition — a small parallel to what SANA is building at the farm level.)
What consumers should know about coffee farmers
Mel: Many consumers feel disconnected from the people who grow the products they use every day. What do you wish more people understood about coffee farmers?
Lucia: I would encourage people to remember that coffee farmers are human beings just like them.
They have dreams. They experience struggles and happiness. They want opportunities for their children and families. They have ambitions, fears, and hopes for the future.
Sometimes people romanticize farming communities or view them only through the lens of poverty or production. But when you spend time with farmers, you realize, "This person is just like me."
They are working toward something. They are trying to build a meaningful life.
Keeping that shared humanity in mind can change the way we think about the coffee we drink and the people whose labor makes it possible.
What's next for SANA
Mel: What's next for SANA?
Lucia: We are focused on growing our team and empowering every team member to become a passionate advocate for the organization and the women we serve.
Our goal is to enroll at least 500 women coffee farmers annually by 2029. We are currently working toward serving 200 participants this year.
We also plan to begin expanding SANA into additional countries next year. Women coffee farmers across different origins face both shared challenges and challenges that are unique to their communities, so we want to grow thoughtfully and adapt the program to each context.
We are also building additional program levels, including SANA 2.0, so that women can continue developing the skills they learned in the original program.
Ultimately, our goal is not simply to offer a few counseling sessions. It is to help build a coffee industry in which mental well-being is understood as essential — and in which women farmers have the confidence, resources, and support to thrive.
A More Human Coffee Industry
SANA's work is a reminder that sustainability begins with people.
Supporting women coffee farmers means recognizing the full reality of their lives: the physical labor they perform, the responsibilities they carry at home, the uncertainty they may face, and the ambitions they hold for themselves and their families.
By creating accessible spaces for counseling, education, connection, and continued growth, SANA is helping women develop tools that extend far beyond a single coffee harvest.
happy® is honored to be part of that work.
Because a stronger coffee industry is not built only through better crops or more resilient farms. It's built by investing in the well-being of the people at its heart.
Here to help. We've partnered with NAMI, the largest mental health organization in the US. If you or someone you know needs support, call 800-950-NAMI or visit NAMI.org. Mental health is health.
Get happy®.
0 comments