About Montserrat Alfaro Gordilo of Mexico

Montserrat Alfaro Gordilo produces coffee in the Nuevo Paraiso region of La Concordia in Chiapas. With the support of her brothers, she works the farm La Colmena. Spanish for “Beehive,” La Colmena is named after the many hives the farm naturally houses. At first these beehives were a challenge to cultivate and harvest from, but she saw they could also offer an additional income stream.

Montserrat always wanted her son to grow up surrounded by his parents and coffee farms. This didn’t change even when she was left alone raising him and part of the Nuevo Paraiso population started isolating her due to social prejudice against single mothers. The challenges created by that haven’t dampened her drive to improve her coffee every day, make economic strides over time, and provide a better future for her son. La Colmena is located 5.5 hours from the Chiapas airport. It has an area of ​​5 hectares and access to the roads. During harvest time her brothers help out. The varieties that predominate on the farm are Costa Rica, Bourbon, and Marsellesa.

Post-harvest, Montserrat carries out fermentation for 36 hours in cement tanks and dries the coffee for 12 to 15 days in patios and raised beds. She uses fruit trees and ice cream bean trees for shade and fertilizes her farm with organic compost made from a mix of coffee pulp.

The Nuevo Paraiso community where Montserrat lives is relatively close to large cities (only 4 hours from the Chiapas airport). One thing that makes Nuevo Paraiso different from the surrounding communities is that the majority of its coffee producers are women. In recent decades, Nuevo Paraiso has suffered a massive migration of its male inhabitants to other countries in search of better job opportunities, leaving their wives and children on the farms. It’s very common today to see women managing the farms and raising their children alone. At first, this was a huge challenge, but over time it became clear that this was a task that they would excel at.

Nuevo Paraiso is characterized by its mountainous, high, but moderately flat terrain. Due to this, most farms have road access. Producers in the area usually either transport their coffees in their own cars, hire communal trucks to transport the coffee collectively, or call the collection centers to send a collection unit. Nuevo Paraiso is located between 1400 and 1600 meters above sea level, and the predominant varieties in the area are Bourbon, Marsellesa, and Costa Rica. The producers' farms are mostly located next to their houses. They also usually house their washing and drying stations in their homes.