Mexico Women Power Zongolica

This Mexican lot from Zongolica coffee is also called WPZ — "Women Power Zongolica!" — by the 20 women who grew and produced it.

WPZ comes from women in the Zongolica region of Veracruz, Mexico. The region is deeply influenced by the rich, ancestral heritage of its people, most of whom identify as part of the Nahuas indigenous group. Across generations, the Nahuas have shared their language and wisdom about plants, rivers, animals, mountains, the planet and the universe through storytelling by their elders.

Coffee farms in Zongolica are agro-ecosystems, meaning the farms take into account the impact of the farming well beyond the farm and work to balance the energy and nutrients to preserve the region’s biodiversity. Intercropping and forest conservation are among the practiced tactics.

The coffee was pulped with hand-cranked de-pulpers, washed and dried on patios for 15 days. Twenty producers contributed to this lot, and each adhered to the same practices on her own farm.

NKG BLOOM, Por Más Café

The women who contributed to WPZ are also part of NKG BLOOM, an initiative of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) to ensure the long-term viability of green coffee supplies and provide smallholder farmers with the opportunities and resources they need to run their farms at full potential and enter pathways out of poverty.

Por Más Café, now part of NKG BLOOM, was created by NKG export company Exportadora de Café California (ECC) in 2014, to address the coffee rust crisis. Since then, 4,520 producers have benefitted from the program, more than 5,300 hectares of coffee have been renovated, $11.2 million U.S. has been offered in financing and more than $34 million has been invested in farm renovations.

Now even more holistic, NKG BLOOM provides custom service packages to producers that may include financing, high-quality inputs, seedlings, agronomy and business training, information services, access to markets and new coffee technologies.