Dozens of women gathered this week to claim their leading role in the socioeconomic development of rural areas in a meeting organized by the Cabildo, within the framework of the Agrofem project, at the Casa de los Zamorano de Tegueste, where the Experiences of seven women entrepreneurs.
The island councilor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla, valued the trajectory of the seven speakers and highlighted the quality of their work and their productions. In his opinion, “entrepreneurship is feminine and, from the Cabildo, we want to continue supporting and promoting this type of meeting, which invites reflection and allows the exchange of initiatives, experiences and knowledge”.
Parrilla stressed the importance of dismantling gender stereotypes related to the primary sector, of continuing to promote female leadership in rural areas and of promoting the more active participation of women to give visibility to their work.
For her part, the CEO of Equality and Prevention of Gender Violence, Priscila de León, assured that “in each meeting I see that the number of women is multiplying, and I think it is because when 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 and do it in synergy”.
One of the participants was Mapi Afonso, creator and manager of the brand of homemade jams La Natural. Her difficult incorporation into the labor market after maternity and the 2008 crisis gave her the necessary impetus to make this business a reality in 2012.
Another was Déborah Díaz Barroso, administrator of El Rebusco, a traditional winery located in Candelaria. Déborah’s great-grandparents have always been involved in agriculture, a task that her grandparents and 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.
Estefanía Jaimez, from Malpaís Hot Sauce, a brand that makes hot sauces, seasonings and homemade jams. The company has 8 types of sauces, from the less spicy and sweet, made with mangoes from their own cultivation or tropical pineapple from El Hierro, to the most extreme. Tanaira Rodríguez and Alba González, specialists in elaiotecnia (olive oil). Both are agricultural technical engineers and oil mill teachers. Tanaira Rodríguez is a technician specializing in extra virgin olive oil throughout the Canary Islands, while Alba González is a technician at Bodega Cumbres de Abona in Arico.
Sara Amelia Rodríguez Dorta, promoter of the Finca Las Pérez agroecological project together with Jonay, her partner. In addition to producing organic eggs, artichokes or lemons on her farm, the beekeeper is committed to learning and raising awareness of the agri-environment, and runs beekeeping and wool workshops. Fátima Sosa García, head of the La Florida cheese factory, which is under the umbrella of the Tenerife Rural guarantee brand and has a wide variety of preparations.
After the panel of experiences, a workshop was held, in which some of the keys to improving the customer experience in a company were addressed, and a tasting of local products was held.
