05/08/2026
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about coffee, but not just the cup, the music, or the artwork I create with Bush Hill Coffee.
What’s really been speaking to me is the true essence of what we enjoy every morning: the people who produce it.
It’s easy to overlook the hands behind the coffee. The producers. The laborers. The people working tirelessly at origin to make this drink possible.
And many of those hands belong to women.
Women make up a significant portion of the labor behind coffee production, with some estimates reaching as high as 80% in certain regions. Yet in many coffee growing communities, access to basic health care is limited.
Recently, Lem Butler led a 10K walk in Ethiopia to raise funds for , helping provide resources for cervical cancer prevention and screening in coffee growing communities. The 10K distance reflects the reality many women face, walking long distances just to reach basic health services.
Lem also shared an interview with Ashinafi, Grounds for Health’s Country Director in Ethiopia, who spoke about the urgent need there. Each year, more than 8,100 women in Ethiopia are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and more than 6,000 die from it.
That is hard to sit with.
It’s something to think about when we take that first sip in the morning. And it feels especially important as we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday.
Cervical cancer is preventable. Access to care matters.
If you work in coffee, love coffee, or simply want to support the women behind so much of what we enjoy, please visit groundsforhealth.org and consider getting involved in this mission with me, Lem, and many others. Anyone can help make a difference.