ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Agroecological Cropping Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicAgroecology in Action: Case Studies, Challenges and Best PracticesView all 11 articles
Traditional values that sustain agroecological coffee production among small scale coffee-growing families in Chiapas, Mexico
Provisionally accepted
Monica Graciela Morales1,2*
Balente Herrera H.1*
Lorena Soto-Pinto1
Carla Beatriz Zamora1
Pablo Pérez-Akaki3- 1Departamento de Agricultura, Sociedad y Ambiente,El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chiapas, Mexico
- 2El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico
- 3Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
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The objective of the research was to identify the values that indigenous coffee peasant households live and analyse why organized indigenous peasant households continue to produce organic and fair-trade coffee despite the cyclical problems and economic challenges. This research is based on a qualitative approach using participant observation with field notes; mixed interviews such as in-depth semi-structured interviews with a dialogical approach; images; and social cartography to identify symbolism. The results show the values that peasant families live by and the reasons for continuing and preserving organic coffee cultivation in the Tzeltal coffee-growing region of Chiapas: symbolic and intangible values such as the value of legacy, the coffee-growing tradition, the eternal rest of family members in the coffee plantation, the hedonic values in the management of the coffee agroecosystem and love for the land, as well as collective work. In addition, the tangible values of use and exchange were identified for the annual economic income represented by the collective sale of the crop. These values transcend generations, explaining and sustaining organic production in the Chiapas Highlands.
Keywords: Organic coffee, agroecological coffee, Symbolic value, Legacy value, use value, exchange value, peasant and indigenous agriculture
Received: 05 Aug 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Morales, Herrera H., Soto-Pinto, Zamora and Pérez-Akaki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Monica Graciela Morales, monica.morales@estudianteposgrado.ecosur.mx
Balente Herrera H., obalente@ecosur.mx
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