Oaxaca State Coffee Producers Network (CEPCO)

The Oaxaca State Coffee Producers Network (CEPCO) is an association of regional organizations of coffee producers representing 23,000 small producers. The vast majority of the farmers are from eight Oaxacan indigenous ethnicities and 25% are women. CEPCO helps cooperatives find a way out of an acute economic crisis caused by plummeting coffee prices and over-reliance on that cash crop.

Established in 1989, CEPCO is a founding member of the National Coordinating Group of Coffee Producers and is a pioneer in the areas of agroecology, fair trade and the organization of women producers. CEPCO works with small scale indigenous coffee producers to improve the quality of their cultivation and the price of their crop. CEPCO also offers training to diversify family income.

CEPCO is a fierce advocate for small farmers. They played a leadership role in the El Campo no Aguanta Más (the Countryside Can't Take Anymore) movement for fair trade regulations and agricultural and rural development policies. Their goal is to advance the rights and better the livelihoods of rural communities. CEPCO will be active this year in advocating to reverse the damage that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has done to Mexico’s small farmers.

The CEPCO project that Grassroots funds is an organic backyard garden and income diversification program for women. Through a model farm established in 2000 and named Ita Teku, which means “the flower of life,” CEPCO’s training programs have educated women in organic agriculture, fish farming and animal husbandry. This strategy, targeted to both individual women and women’s organizations, fosters economic and food security. Building on its success with the Ita Teku model farm, CEPCO has also initiated an organic chicken and egg production and marketing initiative.