Mexico Union San Pedro
Orange, Milk Chocolate, Caramel
Estate: Association of eight smaller sub-associations that represent eight communities located around the town of San Pedro El Alto in Oaxaca’s Sierra Sur mountain range
Elevation: 1450-1900 MASL
Process: Washed
Varietal: Mundo Novo and Pluma Hidalgo
Importer: Raw Material
Certification: Specialty *Maximum Impact Coffee
Union San Pedro
Is an association of eight smaller sub-associations that represent eight communities located around the town of San Pedro El Alto in Oaxaca’s Sierra Sur mountain range. The Sierra Sur lies to the south of Oaxaca city, toward the Pacific Ocean and the southern slopes roll down towards the west coast of the state.
Union San Pedro represents around 180 coffee producing families and is coordinated by Salomon Garcia. Salomon is originally from Xanica, one of the eight communities of San Pedro and he helped to establish the association back in the early 2000’s. Along with the original leadership group, Salomon went on to found UNTAO to support the production of San Pedro as the association grew. UNTAO, which stands for Unión Nacional de Trabajadores Agrícolas Oaxaqueños, is the co-operative owned exporter and dry mill that we use to mill our coffees in Oaxaca city.
In the last few years Salomon has returned his focus back to the producers of San Pedro full time to try and tackle some of the issues facing coffee farmers in Oaxaca today. Under Salomon’s leadership the association has funded demonstrative parcela’s or small farms for each sub association to experiment with different varieties and farming techniques to improve the low yields that are common in Oaxaca. Likewise, the association has built several coffee nurseries to supply its members with high quality seedlings, a real rarity for most producers here.
Fun Fact
You will notice that we have not provided farm names for these coffees. In Mexico, farm names for small scale producers such as these are very rare. This is because the average producer here owns and works on several small fields scattered around their village. Each village has its own structure for organising coffee production.
Some are organised as private entities, where land is bought, sold, and passed onto children. Others are entirely communal, where parcels of land are shared and tended as a collective. Around 90% of the land in Oaxaca is communal. Some of the only private lands in the Oaxacan coffee regions are in the Sierra Sur and Mazateca.
To enhance domestic incomes, outcomes for women, and to motivate a transition toward more eco-friendly farming techniques, in Colombia we: Establish cupping labs, and concentrate training toward women in the area Create and join community associations, invest in infrastructure and training to enhance quality, and bring their coffee to market. Place quality control personnel and equipment at parchment buying points to advance consistency. Offer one-on-one guidance to wet mill operators and producers on optimal techniques. Acquire for steady prices based on coffee production costs and roaster prices to raise profits for producers.There are multiple aspects of impact to consider. At Raw Material, they are concerned about the impact across three main dimensions, weighted in this order:
1. Economic impact
Enabling economic freedom for people working in coffee. In particular, those for whom coffee is a large proportion of their household income. They focus where improvement in income levels, volatility, or payment timing will most likely have a significant influence on wellbeing. Enabling this economic impact through an improved system is the core focus of our work, measured at both the household and community level.
2. Social impact
Contributing to the development of and sharing of knowledge across all participants in the coffee sector, to enable improved inclusive income opportunities and community wellbeing. For example, working with producers to improve production practices; training cuppers and graders in remote regions to recognise quality early and empower marginalised groups; working with roasters to adopt buying practices that include stable prices and long-term planning.
3. Environmental impact
The long-term sustainability of the coffee sector, both economically and environmentally. Through their work, Raw Material can help develop and share environmentally sustainable practices. These are designed in the context of local constraints, including transition, hidden, and ongoing costs, in order to improve viability and the likelihood of long-term adoption.