Experiencias de empresas sociales del café (coffea arabica l.) en la montaña alta del estado de Guerrero.

Abstract

Cooperation and other worldviews of the Me'Phaas communities are the basic structures of their daily lives and their self-managed way of seeking their local development. The objective of this research was to make visible the ways of working of some community organizations in the socio-territorial area of Me'Phaas coffee growers in Guerrero, Mexico. The analysis of socioeconomic data of the companies "Café Ilia", "Café Xiadani" & "Cafeticultores Me'Phaas" from the town of Iliatenco and Paraje Montero was proposed, using the logical framework methodology. In the analysis of their strengths, they highlight the identity characteristics of their movement towards the market, their empathy and the search for the well-being of the community as priorities of their business mission, fair payment and the alliance with their consumers who sell to the final consumer. , all this, as axes of social action. Specialty coffees are in constant demand and the new trend also seeks and bets on yields, but, above all, on cup quality. The territorial distances and the abandonment of the field are its main productive weaknesses. Administration is an area of opportunity that is related to the community organizational system, the hierarchical levels are based on their uses and customs and decisions are almost always made by men. The vision of the profitability of the business is seen in the levels of production and sale, especially since specialty coffees are in an upward trend. However, in marketing, they do not sell to consumers who do not appreciate human quality, that is the reason why marketing with large coffee companies is little valued on their part, their sales are made to local businesses outside the territory, since the specialty coffee market is appreciated outside the region. All the producers store and drink their coffee, but it is usual that at the beginning of the year before the new cut begins, they consume commercial coffee because the product is scarce and there are no conditions for storage. In social aspects, they provide community training as a form of social responsibility. Improving production levels, preserving water, soil and other aspects such as promoting ecotourism are the main factors to be taken care of by companies. They are interested in the preservation of the soil, the environment and pesticide-free production. They have the vision that the field should be viewed as a company and grow, they use fertilizers in a controlled manner, decisions are made in order to optimize resources, and they are in constant training in agroecology. In the medium term, they seek to create conditions to produce with dignity, improve the lifestyle of their communities and, in the long term, be an incubator for collective ventures, train producers, have a coffee school, increase production yields without losing quality. In Guerrero, other territorial areas are recognized as coffee-growing regions, state communities, such as La Montaña Alta de Guerrero, have the potential to produce specialty coffee and promote the social and solidarity economy of our country.