Photo: Noel Rojo
While Mexico is famous for its arabica coffee, migration in the four states with the highest coffee production also is high because of unpredictable weather patterns and diseases brought on by climate change. But agroforestry practices in Oaxaca state are helping local women grow varieties that are more resistant to climate change. Coffee Producers in Oaxaca (CEPCO), an NGO that unites about 3,000 small coffee farmers, provides trainings, access to micro loans, and support with selling coffee within and outside of Mexico. It also supports agroforestry systems in Oaxaca thanks to a project in which women are growing banana palm trees, lemon trees, mandarins and avocados around their coffee plants. Beyond planting trees, they are also restoring soil fertility and water capturing systems. With many of their sons migrating, women are venturing out of the house to help their husbands in the fields and some men are helping with housework, the women say.
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