Maricela Esperón is a 35-year-old female mazateca producer and resilient business entrepreneur who turned her farm into a reference for quality and innovation in her region.

When she was a little girl, her grandparent refused to inherit the family farm to his father Miguel Esperón because he only had female children. After being denied inherence of her family’s farm for being a woman, Maricela defied the prejudices of patriarchy and managed to now own 6 hectares of land together with her father and brother.

La Mazateca has a cold and rainy climate, but it didn’t deter Maricela from doing naturals. Her hand selected cherries dry on raised beds for over 40 days under shade on the roof of her house, developing complexity of fruits and providing one of the cleanest naturals we’ve ever tried.