Guzman Feria, La Cañada Organic, ORG

The region of La Cañada in Oaxaca remote, with rugged terrain, and dotted with small family farms. These farmers are the proud, independent, rough and tumble types who thrive in this climate, as do the agave and coffee plants they grow. The people here speak Spanish as a second language, if at all, and identify instead as Ixcatecos, Mazatecos, Cuicatecos, Nahuas and Mestizos.

Small yields, well-earned mistrust of outsiders and a bias towards going at it alone have kept farmers in this region from organizing into larger cooperatives or associations. But Jaime Guzmán, Erasmo García, and José Contreras are changing that trend. Each have over 40 years of experience in the area, pushing selective picking, lot separation and competition-level cup quality. Through their reputation and relationships, these three men act as collectors for their community, bringing 1-2 bag lots down into central storage, where it can be classified for competitions (usually less than 1 bag lots), specialty export, or local commercial markets. They are small, and growing slowly, but steadily. In 2020 they used premiums to buy shade nets, raised drying beds and new sacks for storing parchment. That a collection of individuals all signed on to this shows the extent to which this community is serious about investing in it’s future.