Mexico

Shared Value Project

Barista in front of a chalkboard menu listing Chiapas coffees

Problem

67%

of people in Chiapas live in poverty, the highest rate in Mexico

70%

of Mexico's coffee producers are smallholders farming less than 10 hectares

Chiapas is one of Mexico's biggest coffee-growing states, and its poorest. Two in three people there live in poverty. Most of the coffee comes from smallholder farmers in remote highland communities, who carry the full weight of volatile prices and a changing climate.

Distance is a big part of the problem. Many farms are remote and hard to reach, which makes regular visits, training and getting coffee to the warehouse in San Cristóbal slow and expensive. Drying is the other. Coffee laid out under the harsh midday sun dries too fast on the outside and unevenly inside, which can lead to mould, high moisture and coffee that ages before it can be roasted. That costs farmers quality, and quality is what earns them a better price.

Inside the Shared Value Project café in San Cristóbal

Coffee tasting with the Shared Value Project team

Courtyard coffee bar at night in San Cristóbal

Shared Value Project team cupping coffee

Visiting a coffee farmer at home in Chiapas

Coffee roasting room at the Shared Value Project

Busy street in San Cristóbal de las Casas

Town plaza at sunset in San Cristóbal de las Casas

Colourful ribbons strung above a street in San Cristóbal

Street leading to a church in San Cristóbal

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Impact

The Shared Value Project is The Cup That Counts' newest partnership, led by Benjamin Whitaker in Chiapas. In 2025, TCTC Director Thomas Terlaak travelled to Chiapas to spend time with Ben, meet producers and help shape the vision. It brings together what we've learned at Zukuka Bora in Uganda, where support at origin lifts farming families, and HomeGround on the Mornington Peninsula, where training and real work change young people's lives.

The Cup That Counts has committed to funding a reliable vehicle and phone for the project. It means the team can visit producers regularly, run training on site, build infrastructure alongside communities and move dried coffee to the warehouse in San Cristóbal, without the cost of rental cars, taxis and couriers. We've also offered a small Origin Loan to help pre-finance the harvest, so farmers can be paid when they deliver their coffee.

The next step is drying. Improving how coffee is dried is the fastest way to lift quality, and the plan has two parts: simple shade cloth frames that take the edge off the midday sun, and raised drying beds rolled out with trusted producers to prove the concept and open the door to premium micro-lots. Farmers would be trained to build and use the new setups, record drying times and teach their neighbours, so the work spreads well beyond the project. This is the next piece we're looking to fund.

Better quality coffee means better prices for farmers, and a stronger base to build skills and jobs for young people in these communities. Every donation to The Cup That Counts helps bring it to life.