The council intends support and give visibility to the work of rural women entrepreneurs as a fundamental part of the “essential” -according to the island councilor Javier Parrilla- generational change in the primary sector of Tenerife. This is the meaning of the meeting of entrepreneurs that took place in Tegueste. Parrilla assures that “entrepreneurship is female and we want to maintain the support and momentum of this type of meeting, which invites reflection and allows the exchange of initiatives, experiences and knowledge.”
Dozens of women gathered this week to claim their leading role in the socioeconomic development of rural environments at the meeting organized by the council, within the framework of the Agrofem project. It took place at the Casa de los Zamorano, in Tegueste, where the professional experiences of seven entrepreneurs were revealed.
Counselor Javier Parrilla valued the trajectory of the speakers and highlighted the quality of their work and their productions. grill struck the importance of dismantling gender stereotypes related to the primary sector, to continue promoting female leadership in rural areas and to promote the more active participation of women to make their work more visible.
For her part, the CEO of Equality and Prevention of Gender Violence, Priscila de León, assured that “in each meeting I see that Cabildo”. She considers that it is produced by the fact that “when we women sit down and share experiences and concerns, we realize not only what we are capable of doing, but also the possibilities that open up if we share that energy.”
seven different visions
Mapi Afonso, creator and manager of the brand of homemade jams La Natural, opened the panel of the seven entrepreneurs. Her difficult entry into the labor market after maternity and the 2008 crisis gave her the necessary impetus to make this business a reality in 2012.
For her part, Déborah Díaz Barroso recounted her experience as the administrator of El Rebusco, a traditional winery located in the municipality of Candelaria. Déborah’s great-grandparents have always been involved in agriculture, a task that her grandparents and, later, her parents continued. In 2010 the El Rebusco brand was born, in 2012 it was introduced in the Valle de Güímar Denomination of Origin and in 2019, Déborah took over in the winery.
“Entrepreneurship is female and our idea is to maintain support for rural women”
Estefanía Jaimez represents Malpaís Hot Sauce, a brand that isproduces hot sauces, seasonings and homemade jams. The company has eight types of sauces, from the least spicy and sweetest, made with mangoes grown on its own or tropical pineapple from El Hierro, to the most extreme, made with the chiles that hold the Guinness World Record for the hottest.
Tanaira Rodríguez and Alba González are specialists in elaiotecnia (olive oil). Both are agricultural technical engineers and oil mill teachers. Individually, Rodríguez has become specialist in extra virgin olive oil throughout Canary Islandswhile Alba González works at Bodega Cumbres de Abona, located in the southern municipality of Arico.
Sara Amelia Rodríguez Dorta is the promoter of the agroecological project Finca Las Pérez, along with Jonay, his partner. In addition to producing organic eggs, artichokes or lemons on her farm, the beekeeper is committed to learning and raising agro-environmental awareness and develops, through her project La colmena ambulante and the rural school El abejón, beekeeping and wool workshops .
quality concern
Lastly, Fátima Sosa García attended the rural women’s forum held in Tegueste as head of the La Florida cheese factory. She highlights in her exhibition the constant concern for quality, innovation and care for animals. The facility is under the umbrella of the Tenerife Rural guarantee brand and has a wide variety of preparations. From tender, to smoked, semi-cured or cured, as well as yogurt and cottage cheese.
Once the panel of experiences concluded, a workshop was held, in which some of the keys to improving customer expectations in a company were addressed. The day concluded with a tasting of local products. The event, which will continue in the coming months, was also attended by the Island Director of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Cayetano Silva, as well as the Councilor for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Tegueste City Council, Julián Rodríguez Pérez.
