Better coffee, better life
Ten families from Cotlaixco, Veracruz, Mexico, worked with Colectivo Rokunin and The Chain Collaborative to improve the quality of their coffee. Discover their amazing evolution
Materialized illusion (2023-05-23) by Eber González (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
Coffee growing is a tradition passed down through generations in Cotlaixco, an indigenous community in Zongolica. Due to its elevation, climate, and soil, there is tremendous potential to produce high-quality beans. However, coffee-growing families had not been able to thrive.
Coffee is a multi-billion-dollar industry globally, but nearly half of the small-scale farmers who cultivate it live below the poverty line. This is the situation for 86% of the population in Zongolica, in the state of Veracruz. More than 3,000 coffee growers live there.
"We're always working and working, but year after year, we always end up in the same place, not having much income," said Doña Rolanda Reyes Acatecatl, a farmer from Cotlaixco, discussing her earnings from coffee sales.
Colectivo Rokunin identified several barriers for Doña Rolanda and other producer families: a lack of resources and infrastructure to process their coffee, very limited and unfair conditions for its sale in the area, and the need for technical assistance and financing.
Toasted coffee (2021-05-31) by Colectivo Rokunin and On The ShoreColectivo Rokunin
For years, Colectivo Rokunin has been promoting collaborative projects related to landscape, coffee, art, and design—projects that are socially meaningful and that promote sustainable practices and gender equity. That's why they sought a way to work with families in Cotlaixco.
Treasure to drink (2021-05-31) by Colectivo Rokunin and On The ShoreColectivo Rokunin
That's how they entered the Community-Led Development Incubator Program by the international organization The Chain Collaborative, triggering a significant initial boost for an extraordinary path of transformation.
Strategic vision (2022-05-31) by Norma Falcón (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
The goal of this program is for communities to address intergenerational poverty and marginalization in the coffee sector on their own terms and visions of change. So, the families of Cotlaixco began to analyze their needs and decide how to address them.
From 'Cereceros' to 'Parchment Producers': A frail path
Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee plant's fruit, which is harvested when it turns a bright red color. Most families sold these cherries at low prices. Their resources for extracting the beans, negotiation capacity, and distribution alternatives were limited.
So one of their objectives was to transition from being cherry producers to parchment producers: selling coffee beans already pulped and dried, with a fine husk called parchment. Ensuring that each step of the process adds to the quality of their coffee, avoiding any defects.
The new mechanical pulpers they acquired save them a lot of manual labor with better results and less water usage. "Our commitment now is to take care of the machine and improve our coffee," explains Doña Rolanda Reyes, also very happy to have quality materials for drying the beans. They built screens or elevated beds to evenly aerate their coffee, in addition to wooden and sturdy rubber solar dryers: this way, they protect it from humidity and dry it faster.
Elbow to elbow (2022-12-14) by Itzel Mendoza (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
"That was also something we were missing. In the upcoming harvest we will dry it better, with great care", explains Doña Rolanda. She points care because she has learned that each step of the process is very delicate and crucial to maintaining the final quality of their coffee.
Much to learn
In addition to machinery and materials, the families from Cotlaixco chose to educate themselves in key areas to achieve their goal. They participated in workshops on small coffee business management, transitioning to specialty coffee cultivation, taxation, and soil fertility.
With the support of experts, they analyzed the soil on their farms and supplemented it with the necessary components. In an empowering process, they realized that among their fellow community members, there were people capable of contributing other crucial knowledge.
Teamwork (2022-12-19) by Itzel Mendoza (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
Elena Acaltecl, daughter of a participating family, led the gardening workshop. She shared what she had learned in university, such as crop association: "Coffee is very resilient for this practice, we can obtain multiple harvests" she explains, happy to contribute.
The cultivation of citrus and other crops benefits the coffee agroecosystem, promotes biodiversity, and helps restore the deteriorated forest mass in the area. These families don't just identify with coffee; they define themselves as men and women of the land.
The land and Nahuatl: caring for their essence
Through their identity, there is another element they also want to preserve. For indigenous peoples, their mother tongue is as vital as the territory, but discrimination has put almost 50% of linguistic variants in Mexico at risk of disappearing.
The families decided that Professor Hugo Acatecatl and his team, as expert trainers paid by the project and natives of Cotlaixco, would conduct a Nahuatl workshop to delve deeper into their language and promote its use, especially among the children.
We are coffee and Nahuatl (2022-12-19) by Norma Falcón (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
In the end, hey placed signs in Nahuatl inviting everyone in Cotlaixco to care for nature. These signs materialized the strong connection among all aspects of the participating families: their coffee, their land, and all the biological and cultural richness within them.
Fruit of their effort (2023-01-19) by Itzel Mendoza (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
A year and a half into the project, the Nahuatl signs and every achievement are a source of pride. They estimate that the next harvest will allow them to process five tons of coffee, enhancing its quality. All thanks to collective effort.
Materials delivery (2023-05-23) by Eber González (phographer)Colectivo Rokunin
The driving force behind this effort was The Chain Collaborative. Beyond the investment, "they stayed very close throughout the entire process, never leaving us alone. Knowing other projects in the incubator program has been a great strength," concludes Itzel Mendoza.
The Chain Collaborative 2023
Veracruz, México
Photo: Eber González, Norma Falcón, Itzel Mendoza, Gabriela Lavalle.
Writing and edition: Teresa Morte.
Coordination: Itzel Mendoza.
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