Coffee, Avocados, and...Vanilla?

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as the saying goes. ⠀

Mexico is the global leader of avocados, accounting for half of the world’s production. Pictured above, a family from the RIVIERA society harvests Hass avocados. The avocado trees serve a dual purpose: they provide vital shade for growing coffee, and they offer an economic fallback from coffee. The coffee market is highly volatile, not to mention that a farmer's yields can change dramatically year-to-year. By investing in many crops, not just one, a producer ensures a more consistent, steady income throughout the year and into the next harvest. 

That green vine hanging off the tree trunk is wild vanilla bean. Here in the mountains of Presidio de los Reyes, heirloom vanilla plants are commonplace. And they often grow in and around coffee trees, under the shade of the natural canopy. And, because all coffee from Presidio de los Reyes is certified organic, any vanilla harvested from a coffee farm here would technically be a certified organic product. ⠀

This photo was taken on a plot of land (called “Sombrero”) owned by Sr. Bernabé Flores Gerónimo, who is a member of the CUERNO Society. GTNay Agronomist Fredy stands in the foreground. ⠀