Ues
UES: Coffee Producer in Mexico
Union de Ejidos y Comunidades San Fernando (UES), is a coffee co-operative based in Chiapas estate, Mexico, which was established in 1984 and is committed to the production of Fairtrade certified, specialty coffee.
Today, UES supports 906 farmer members with a stable income, in addition to delivering consistent technical assistance to improve coffee quality and productivity on their farms.
Each UES member works to firm Fairtrade principles, enabling the co-operative to access a growing specialty coffee market and reach buyers across the globe, including longstanding Shared Interest partner and ethical coffee retailer, Cafedirect.
Image: Silvia Herrera, Commercial and Financial Manager at UES, assesses the aroma of her co-operative's coffee as part of the coffee cupping process.
Credit: Cafédirect
Mayan Gold: How UES have Pioneered the Production of Prized Fairtrade Coffee
Cafédirect, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2024, is an ethical retailer and one of the first companies to sell Fairtrade certified coffee in 1994. It was at this time, in the early '90s, that Cafédirect began working with UES and sourcing coffee from the co-operative. Today, coffee from UES can be found in Cafédirect's Mayan Gold, available here.
UES Financial and Commercial Manager, Silvia Herrera, recently visited the UK and participated in celebrations for the Fairtrade Foundation’s 30th anniversary. Silvia also visited longstanding UES buyer Cafédirect. The coffee industry won’t survive without its growers - and they won’t survive if they can’t invest in their farms and take care of their families; through Cafédirect's direct farmer relationships, they are able to understand and respond to the needs of farmers, supporting the future of good coffee.
Silvia said:
“Cafédirect shows there are alternative ways of working – partnerships, where all the voices are equal. We’re sharing values – like caring for people and the environment.”
As well as setting the bar for sustainably sourced, Fairtrade coffee across the globe, UES also maintains a strong local impact, ensuring its members are comprehensively supported with resources and training.
The co-operative has worked to improve coffee-drying patios for 289 of its members, to bolster efficiency during the harvest season.
Income diversification is another initiative UES are promoting to ensure its members are sufficiently supported, which has involved the implementation of a food safety project and vegetable plantations on members' farms.
In 2022, UES launched production of organic fertilisers for 100 of its members, in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation, which provided delivery of related technical assistance and training.
Shared Interest and UES
Since 2013, Shared Interest has supported UES as a social lender with financial resources in excess of one million dollars, which have been used to secure coffee contracts with buyers, to pay farmers on time for their coffee and to acquire equipment used in the co-operative’s coffee roasting process.
In 2014, tragically, coffee plantations belonging to UES farmers were devastated by La Roya (coffee leaf rust), a pervasive fungal disease which develops on the leaves of a coffee plant and emerges through irregularities in rainfall and temperature. The fungus blocks photosynthesis and can reduce a crop to a skeleton within weeks.
UES were keen to take action. With their devastated farmers facing extensive damage to their coffee plants, they approached us for finance to support their plantation renewal programme to create healthier crops.
Image: Silvia joins fellow producers of UES on one of the co-operative's farms.
Credit: Cafédirect
Silvia Herrera, Commercial and Finance Manager of UES, said:
“We are very grateful to Shared Interest for believing in our plantation renewal program. The production during the last season increased by 29% thanks to the planned efforts. Our producers now have healthier farms and Roya is finally under control.”
A commitment with nature
Looking to the future - as well as being able to prevent the spread of coffee leaf rust disease - UES expect to welcome a 48% increase in their coffee production. To achieve this, the farming communities belonging to UES are striking a balance with nature and spearheading community projects to support their needs and the sustainability of their environment.
Back to mapUES state: “The commitment we have made with nature and love of the countryside drives us to keep in organic production, and not only that, but look for alternatives that allow us to give back a little of everything that the earth has given us. We are in a privileged area, where land, water and climate are supplemented for the production of our coffee.”