Chajulense

Chajulense (“union” in the Ixil language), in San Gaspar de Chajul, Quiche, Guatemala, has 1198 producers (12% women). In its first two years (1990-92), the association focused on basic community needs and built a pharmacy, a granary, and a small store. In 1989, with the help of a Mexican coffee farmer cooperative, Chajulense began to focus on their specialty quality, organic, fair trade, and high altitude coffees. They developed support systems for producer members to recover production through farm renovation with disease resistant varietals. With external support, Chajulense strengthened their technical-assistance team with experts in organic production.