Mexico
Yeni Navan, MICHIZA
Fast Facts on Coop Yeni Navan, MICHIZA
932 members, of which 266 are women
Founded in 1985
First international exports in 1989
Present in 43 community
Coffee is Organic Certified by NATURLAND, Germany
Yeni Navan means “Permanent Sunrise” in English
Yeni Navan started as a small organization regrouping organic coffee producers from various ethnic groups. Their name, Michiza, is an abbreviation of these five groups: Mixtecos, Chinantecos, Chatinos, Cuicatecos and Zapotecos. The farmers hoped that through the organization they would be able to stop the local intermediaries from manipulating the local price of coffee and exploiting them in the process.
Initially, they sold their coffee only on the local market. In 1989, the organization obtained legal status under the name Yeni Navan, and they had the authorization to export. By 1991, they were capable of exporting independently.
MICHIZA offers technical support to its members to improve their capacity in organic agriculture and overall coffee quality and yields. MICHIZA is also responsible for marketing and the direct export of their members` coffee. In addition, they are in a constant process of promoting women`s participation in their decision-making, the impact of which is noted in the number of women who are members.
