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The Cooperative "Producers’
Union Maya Vinic" is comprised of some 700 coffee farming families
located in 36 highland communities in the municipalities of Chenalhó,
Pantelhó and Chalchihuitán, in Chiapas, Mexico. Inspired
by the traditions of their ancestors, Maya Vinic is organized and
operates in keeping with a respect of local culture, language, reverence
for the Mother Earth and traditional forms of self-government.
Maya Vinic is born out the wider civil society "Las Abejas”,
an organized response to the prevalent injustice in their communities
and in the hopes of promoting positive change and autonomous development
by pacific means. The plight of their communities came to the public
eye in the aftermath of the infamous Acteal Massacre, where 45 men,
women and children were killed by paramilitary forces and thousands
more displaced from their homes.
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 The
organizational structure of Maya Vinic holds a General Assembly
as its maximum authority. An Assembly of Community Delegates works
in close conjunction with the Producers’ Board of Directors
to accomplish the tasks assigned to the Education, Technical Assistance,
Marketing, Administration and local Arbitration and Problem Resolution
Committees.
Coffee production is nothing new to the farmers of this region.
“Recruited” since the arrival of the plantations in
the early 1900s as poorly paid hired hands during the harvest, they
learned about production and processing, and the wealth that coffee
had made for a fortunate few. Soon, seeds began trickling back to
the Highland communities of Chiapas.
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Office: Sacred Soil
- Martyrs of Acteal
Region: Highlands of Chiapas
Founded: July 31, 1999
Coffee: Arabica coffees, including varieties such as Typica, Caturra,
and Mundo Novo. Grown at altitudes of between 900 and 1400 meters,
classified as Extra Prime to Strictly Hard Bean.
Characteristics: This smooth-bodied coffee offers balance in the
cup with pronounced sweet, fruity flavor. |
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Farmers eventually were able to organize themselves
into producer cooperatives in search of more equitable markets.
In keeping with this legacy, Maya Vinic has recently been accepted
to the FLO register and is in th e
second year of organic certification.
Cooperative Coffees purchased the first Maya Vinic coffee to be
exported under fair trade terms in 2001. |
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