Sustainable Harvest

Clemente Santiago Paz, Sustainable Harvest’s staff agronomist in Mexico, recently returned from visiting our supplier partners located throughout southern Mexico. While on the road, Clemente received first-hand updates from the farmers, who are busy harvesting their coffee. Clemente was especially struck by the participation of women in the cooperatives he visited — this year, several women have been newly elected or appointed to leadership positions. Increasingly, women are beginning to fill roles in cooperatives that were previously held by men. As the Mexico harvest goes into full swing, we would like to introduce a few of the women working behind the scenes to bring us high quality coffee from Mexico:

Señora Francisca García Rivera

Francisca García Rivera

This past October, Francisca García Rivera became a member of the directors council for the Huatusco Cooperative; she is the first women ever to have this position. Huatusco members recently elected a new board of directors, and the President made it a priority to appoint Rivera to the director’s council soon after taking his new post. Rivera owns 2.5 hectares of land in the coffee-producing region of Quapol, Veracruz, Mexico, and comes from a family of coffee producers.

Señora Mirsa Indira Roblero Ramirez

Mirsa Indira Roblero Ramirez

At the Cooperative Triunfo Verde in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, Mirsa Indira Roblero Ramirez was recently elected by members of her community to be their  representative. The first woman representative ever to be elected at Triunfo Verde, Ramirez is in charge of coordinating the work of 29 co-op members, supporting the co-op as it completes its organic inspections, and coordinating the work of the cooperative’s 30,000-plant nursery.

Señora Silvia Roblero Torres

Silvia Roblero Torres

When Silvia Roblero Torres began working at CESMACH cooperative in southern Chiapas, Mexico, in 2003, she was the first woman to ever work there. She quickly proved herself just as capable as the male staff, and now works as an agronomist and internal control officer for the cooperative. She is also in the process of becoming a certified organic inspector. Silvia has taken a particular interest in supporting the women farmers who are part of the cooperative. She helped them organize themselves into groups and offers the women’s groups training and support to develop skills that can help them increase their incomes.

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