The Potential of the Circular Economy Within the Cacao Value Chain for Socio-Economic Empowerment and the Creation of Sustainable Employment for Awajún Women in Imaza, Amazonas

This research analysed how circular economy practices in the cacao value chain foster socio-economic empowerment and create sustainable employment for Awajún women in Imaza, Amazonas. The overall objective was to determine the association of circular practices with the empowerment and economic benefits of women producers. A quantitative approach was used, employing a non-experimental cross-sectional design and a sample of 55 women, who were administered a structured questionnaire; the data were processed using Spearman’s correlations and multiple linear regression models with robust standard errors. The main results showed a positive and significant correlation between circular economy practices and income and employment generation (rho = 0.702; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the econometric models confirmed that these practices are positively associated with socio-economic empowerment and economic benefits. It is concluded that the circular economy constitutes a viable strategy for improving the living conditions of Awajún women, although its scale up requires overcoming financial, technical and time-related barriers.