Pianistas de Armazém: Trabalho Feminino na Catação de Café

Nimble hands and fingers moving intermittently to the rhythm of a silent melody, carried forward by the determination to survive. The work of women and girls performed with such dexterity and focus as to earn them the nickname of “pianists”, driven by the gains from productivity, and diligent in their labor, as they work under the watchful eye of inspectors. Coffee sorting is a reprocessing activity, consisting in eliminating the defective beans from a lot, with a view to increase the supplier’s profit. While the practice endured for a large portion of coffee’s history and represented a critical link in the export supply chain, the principal figures in this endeavor – the coffee sorters – were relegated to invisibility. With the “Warehouse pianists: female labor in the coffee sorting industry,” O Museu do Café is privileged to offer the public, through a collection of memories and audiovisual resources, a glimpse into the day-to-day experience of these female workers and a craft, which has slowly, but surely, disappeared.

The large daily flow of goods and people to and from ships demanded a substantial workforce. In this setting, women were called on to perform a range of paid activities connected directly or indirectly to the port: they worked as seamstresses, coffee sorters, laundresses, and in other tasks. To supplement their incomes, or in their role as head of the household, they faced the social stigma associated with female labor, one that persisted through the 20th century, and had to endure long work days, as they remained responsible for performing their usual daily domestic duties. Manual coffee sorting fell under the category of “female activities”: repetitive work that required little specialization and less physical effort – a questionable assertion in the light of the day-to-day routines of these workers – and for which meager compensation was paid. The characteristics of agility, attention, and patience were attributes traditionally assigned to women, however without regard to the fact that the skills they developed through their education and in the domestic setting made them, in fact, a specialized labor force.