A coffee with a woman's touch and a feminist angle in rural Mexico? A few years ago, this idea might have seemed impossible. But today, it's a reality, brought to life by strong women who have united to turn coffee production into a symbol of empowerment and resistance against patriarchy.
One example is "Sat Kajpel Antsetik," which means "Coffee with the Face of a Woman" in the Tsotsil language. This is a cooperative of indigenous women producers who are part of the Mercedes Olivera Feminist Collective (COFEMO) in the Highlands of Chiapas.
COFEMO is a feminist organisation with over 30 years of experience. They work to close gender gaps in some of the most marginalised areas of Chiapas. In partnership with other groups, they launched the "Initiatives with Women's Work" project in 2023, which led to the creation of Sat Kajpel Antsetik, focused on growing coffee. They're also working on two other projects related to honey and textiles.
Ensambles and COFEMO Join Forces for Coffee
In 2023, our team, along with the Bios Terra Institute (IBT), embarked on a journey to the mountains of Los Altos de Chiapas, where we witnessed the immense potential of the coffee that grows in those lands. There, we began building partnerships with local producers, including a feminist cooperative made up of 58 Tzotzil women.
This group of indigenous women, bearers of ancestral heritage, holds in their hands the wisdom of many generations. Their ages range from 20 to 60 years, reflecting the continuity of tradition in communities such as Chiloljá, San Juan Cancuc, Santiago el Pinar, Canalumtik, Chalchihuitán, and Tenejapa.
Every day, these women take on exhausting domestic tasks: they light the fire, wash and cook the corn, grind it, prepare tortillas, beans, and coffee, and then head to the coffee fields to work and gather firewood. They return home to warm up the food, wash clothes, and clean before going to bed.
This year, the land gifted them their second harvest, and we were able to obtain 3 tons of this washed-processed coffee. However, some women are exploring the Honey processing method to highlight the richness of their product.
Coffee is not their only source of income. They also engage in crafts, while others support their partners in honey production, often in roles that are undervalued and where their work is typically overlooked.
What Challenges Do They Face?
The cooperative faces several challenges that affect coffee production, especially related to the environment. Edith Viviana Díaz, the leader and coordinator of the organisation, says that the unusual and extreme weather in the region has greatly disrupted the growing cycles. "Droughts, heavy rains, and strong winds have made harvesting difficult this year," she explains.
Additionally, the coffee plants are threatened by diseases like rust, coffee berry borer, and anthracnose, and this year, the Mediterranean fruit fly has also become a problem. These issues, along with the old age of the coffee plants that haven't been renewed or pruned, have led to low yields. Despite this, the women producers are hopeful that these yields will improve during the transition period.
Another major challenge is the limited involvement of women in decision-making and land ownership. Although many women do not own the land they farm, they have managed to make agreements with men to work the land. Historically, women in Chiapas have been excluded from inheriting land, which is reflected in a troubling statistic: only 27.7% of them legally own land.
NUUP Embraces Connections
In 2022, we formed a partnership with Nuup (which means ‘Connection’ in the Mayan language), a nonprofit organization that provides technology, advice, and creates strategic links to promote a shift toward more sustainable and inclusive food production and trade models.
This collaboration has taken root in Los Altos de Chiapas, where the "Café con rostro de mujer" cooperative found a key ally. We have embraced the processes, acting as an anchor company to connect the women producers with national and international markets. We not only facilitate these connections but also offer higher and fairer prices than the local market, giving these women new economic freedom and financial independence.
NUUP’s role has been to support and co-invest with us to ensure a technical team is present to guide and assist the producers at the origin. They also implemented a digital platform called Sirio, a vital tool for managing knowledge, empowering producers, and giving them more control over their business decisions.
“Our mission at NUUP is to support the process so it strengthens, and to ensure the cooperative and COFEMO fully own the knowledge, so they never depend on our support or the funding we’re currently providing,” says Victoria Forastieri, NUUP’s project manager.
Victoria also considers this model, which brings together the private sector, NGOs, and producers, a great success that should be replicated in the agricultural sector.
This is just the beginning of a transformation story born from the power of connection!
Photos: Isabel Mateos, COFEMO y Pedro Pablo Gómez
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