The Unión de productores de café Rio Blanco was founded in September 2005. Its aim is to take advantage of the natural conditions of the region by producing organic coffee without damaging the ecosystems. It is strongly committed to local social and economic development and encourages the participation of all actors in the production chain, especially women, young people and the elderly.
The organisation has 355 producers, 195 men and 160 women, from the communities of the municipality of La Independencia: Rosario la Montaña, Badenia, Candelaria, Tres Pinos and Rio Blanco, belonging to different ethnic groups such as Tojolabal, Tzotziles, Tzeltales and Mestizos.
Historically, coffee has been the economic mainstay of families in the region and producers have been growing coffee organically for generations in order to preserve the biodiversity of each plot.
Unfortunately, in recent years, due to climate change, the coffee plantations have been affected by rust, which has severely damaged the Typica, Bourbon, Mundo Novo and Caturra varieties.
Producers are gradually renewing their plantations with improved varieties with good cup quality and resistance to rust, such as Oro Azteca, Costa Rica 95, Geisha, Catuai and Yellow Bourbon.