The Little Coffee Co-op that Could!

Out of the tragedy of the massacre in the small indigenous town of Acteal in Chiapas, Mexico in 1997, Las Abejas (an indigenous Christian pacifist organization) did not respond with revenge but instead an increased single minded commitment to resistance and creating alternatives. Among the many projects they started maybe the most successful is their coffee co-op known as MayaVinic (Mayan Man). The men in their culture harvest the coffee while the women focus on handmade artisanry. The women’s co-op is known as MayaAntsetik (Mayan Woman).

During the first half of the last decade MayaVinic grew to almost 800 coffee growers while they were able to receive certification as both organic and fair trade.  JEM was instrumental in helping them with the connection with FLO (the intl. Fair Trade org. based in Germany), connecting them with a fair trade coffee importer in the US, producing a video about the co-op and making sure each delegation visited their warehouse stocking up with a good supply of coffee to bring back to the states.

They have withstood many attempts to derail their co-op both high intensity through direct armed attacks against growers and their warehouse and low intensity government strategy to sow dissent among their ranks and make it difficult for them to export. In 2007 the organization of Las Abejas suffered a division because of one leader who began negotiating with the government on his own for the benefit of his own community.  While the two organizations now are struggling to survive today, MayaVinic continues to welcome growers from both although their membership has been cut in half.

Nevertheless, last year they were able to gross more than one million dollars in sales exporting to four countries and have expanded their product line to honey which they are exporting to Belgium. They have created an Ecological Center across from their warehouse where they have the bees for the honey, a greenhouse with mushrooms and classrooms for ongoing training of their members. Recent news tells of a new government subsidized town in the same region as Las Abejas that created a coffee co-op that grossed almost three million their first year.  While that could be demoralizing for most, Las Abejas continue to make their resistance to a dominant system that dehumanizes and destroys “Mother Earth” their primary commitment.

Antonio Ruiz, MayaVinic’s representative, will be touring California after Easter and hopefully will be able to renew contact with JEM in San Diego that our partnership toward a “One Earth Economics for the Common Good” might gain strength. Watch the JEM-produced video below for further illustration of this topic.

You can still find Fair Trade, organic Mayavinic coffee online at Higher Grounds Trading.