Scholars’ Voices: A Woman’s Journey into Agriculture

At the 2022 Baobab Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, EARTH University Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumni, Lynda Alvarado, told her story about her path to agriculture. We asked her to elaborate on her journey and share her goals for her future. Here is Lynda’s story in her own words.  

Have you ever stood in front of the mirror and asked yourself, Who am I? What´s my purpose on earth? To be honest I´ve done it many more times than I can believe. Let me tell you my story.

I was born in a small town called Gracias, Lempira in Honduras. Since I was a child, I have been involved in coffee growing. My maternal grandparents had a small coffee farm and I grew up valuing the work on the land and the effort of each farmer. However, because I was a girl, my role was to learn domestic chores and not work on the farm. Despite this, the need to learn and support the coffee growers grew within me.

As I got older, my family’s expectations of what my future should look like changed: “You have to be a doctor! Or you have to be a lawyer!”, they’d say. But I knew that what I wanted was bigger than anything else. When I had to decide what I should study and what I wanted to be, I was completely sure I wanted to be an agricultural engineer. This is when the negative comments from the people around me got louder “You are going to drop out. That´s not a good job for women.”

Despite those words in mind, I applied to EARTH University and to my surprise, in November 2015, I received a call that I was admitted and to top it off, I was going to be awarded a scholarship by the Mastercard Foundation. I knew that not even in my wildest dreams would I be able to afford such a high-quality education, but that was the only chance I had to make my dreams come true. I was glad that someone did trust in my abilities and was giving me the opportunity to get all the tools I needed to become a successful professional. I had to work hard. By 2019 one of my biggest dreams came true – I was graduating as an agricultural student from one of the best universities in Latin America and I was proving to myself that my abilities were greater than my fears.

However, this was only the first chapter of the book of my life that is still being written. I returned to my country, Honduras, and I had to face the reality of work. It took some time for me to get a job but then I got it, and not only had to try to demonstrate my professional knowledge but also, my capabilities as a woman in a still-conservative society. Now I am working on my personal projects and doing what I am most passionate about, which is helping farmers and motivating more young people to follow their dreams. I work to strengthen the technical processes for coffee farmers in western Honduras with sustainable management of their farms, and crop diversification. As an agricultural professional and active participant in the productive processes, I am able to recognize the importance of women’s participation in productive areas and the need that still exists to promote inclusive education and professional development to empower women to build prosperous and fair economies in rural communities around the world. I believe that it is possible to achieve integral human development by making use of the available resources that allow equity, justice and prosperity for present and future generations.

I knew from the beginning that it would be a difficult but not impossible process. And that my destiny depended on my inner strength to be what I wanted to be. If I had let myself be guided by the negative comments instead of listening to my heart, maybe I would not be happy now. So, when you ask yourself Who am I? Remember to listen to your heart first. And if you feel fear, that´s what makes it exciting.

Read more of the highlights from the 2022 Baobab Summit.

Read more Scholars’ Voices

Watch Lynda’s speech  at the Baobab Summit

About Lynda:

Lynda Alvarado is a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumni, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Sciences from EARTH University, Costa Rica. She is an agricultural engineer with experience in agricultural industrialization processes and sustainable management of natural resources for young students from technical high schools.

Currently, Lynda is developing, together with a group of colleagues from the western region of the country, a project for the production of sweet chili and its commercialization in the regional market. She is also starting a family business project which consists of the production and processing of specialty coffee, as an initiative to awaken the interest of coffee farmers in adding value to the products of their farms and thus boost the economy of their families.