Story

Although many of the contributions the Mayan civilization gave to humanity have been lost to today’s world, the greatness of their culture endures though stelae, lintels, codices, ceramics, temples, monuments, and traditions. Las Tejedores are women that continue the deep-rooted, Mayan traditions through fine textile arts that exemplify the essence of the Chiapas States. These women and their families have inherited and practice their long-standing artistic culture.

For the people of this area, coffee is a product of opportunity and economic stability; a key part of Mayan prosperity in these Mexican coffee lands. Textile weaving continues their long-standing artistic culture, but also amplifies their powerful voices and extraordinary stories that are the core of their community and collective work. Through this limited edition, we want to highlight the stories of Las Tejedoras; their work as coffee growers and textile weavers.

Contributing Producers

All the producers who are part of Las Tejedoras are women involved in the coffee value chain in Chiapas. As is common in the region, both women and men work in cultivation, however in many cases, the women are leaders in managing the farms, processing the coffee, and making decisions in the various processes carried out daily.

We have encountered several women who, in addition to being leaders within their plots, are also leaders in their communities due to their commitment to improving farm practices such as cultivation, harvesting, processing, and drying. The level of commitment of these women is incredible and deserves to be seen, as they have been improving their standards and quality with the help of PECA, upgrading the quality from RTB to AA or AAA.

Over the years, the women that are part of Las tejedoras have significantly improved their processing techniques under the guidance of our PECA educators. Initially, they used to mix all the ripe and unripe coffee fruits and ferment them for 8 hours. Drying was carried out for a few days so that they could sell the parchment coffee as quickly as possible to buyers at or below market price. When these women joined the Producer Education Program, they transformed their harvesting practices by increasing the number of harvests and focusing on optimal ripeness levels. Fermentation was also key to improving quality. It was extended from 8 hours to 24 to 40 hours, depending on weather conditions and the available fermentation medium, such as concrete or plastic tanks. This resulted in a fruitier coffee and a more complex cup profile.

In addition, drying practices were changed and times were extended to an average of 7 to 10 days. Overall, these farmers have 12 hours of sunlight and no hot temperatures due to humid or cloudy weather. Where their farms are located, there is a window of time between 12 and 2 p.m. when the temperature rises, so they must take advantage of this time to dry the coffee on concrete patios or palm mats, which is very typical in the Mexican coffee culture.