Mexico NKG Bloom Los Altos is the work of 102 indigenous women from five municipalities of the Los Altos de Chiapas region of Mexico. They have, for generations, been custodians of their traditional knowledge and culture. They have also been instrumental in preserving coffee production in Mexico.
The rust pandemic in 2014, combined with ageing trees on coffee plantations, lead to low production, which in turn resulted in mass migration in favor of urban work options. Existing gender inequalities — especially in rural areas — meant historically less power over resources, as well as decreased access to education, employment and decision making. This dynamic has left many women producers trapped in their given circumstance. The exodus of men in particular has altered the social roles historical relegated to the women of these communities. Women stayed at home as men migrated to the cities, creating space for women to step more strongly into roles of economic power. These indigenous women stepped into the role of farmer and entrepreneur, and did so with enthusiasm.
Of the 102 producers who contribute to Mexico NKG Bloom Los Altos, 12 are under age 29, and 57 age 30-50, meaning this group represents the future of coffee in the region as well as the present. Each producer works an average of 1.2 hectares, producing cherry that is hand-pulped, fermented in small tanks, washed and sundried.
NKG BLOOM, Por Más Café
The producers of Mexico NKG Bloom Los Altos are also part of NKG BLOOM, an initiative of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) to ensure the long-term viability of green coffee supplies and provide smallholder farmers with the opportunities and resources they need to run their farms at full potential and enter pathways out of poverty.
Por Más Café, now part of NKG BLOOM, was created by NKG export company Exportadora de Café California (ECC) in 2014, to address the coffee rust crisis. Since then, 4,520 producers have benefitted from the program, more than 5,300 hectares of coffee have been renovated, $11.2 million U.S. has been offered in financing and more than $34 million has been invested in farm renovations.
Now even more holistic, NKG BLOOM provides custom service packages to producers that may include financing, high-quality inputs, seedlings, agronomy and business training, information services, access to markets and new coffee technologies.
Please visit the ECC site to learn more about PMC, the official page of the initiative to learn more about NKG BLOOM, or this quick blog post to learn about how ECC inspired and informed NKG BLOOM.
Cupping notes: Plum, brown sugar, almond; citric acidity, juicy body.
