Emprendedoras de Tierra Blanca produces organic vanilla and agroforestry systems for coffee.

Emprendedoras de Tierra Blanca is a group made of seven Zapotec women, founded in 2018 and located in the middle of the Copalita River Basin. The enterprises produce organic vanilla and agroforestry systems for coffee. 

Emprendedoras de Tierra Blanca started as a tree nursery for coffee plants and shade trees for the seven communities of Unión San Pedro para la Agricultura Sostenible 100 Sombras. Later on, they improved their farming methods through the highest standards to produce specialty coffee. However, upon realizing the benefits of growing vanilla compared to growing coffee (over 50% more income for an area of 0.25 ha), the company decided to focus on vanilla as a diversification strategy for production and economic improvement.  

The enterprise has 3-year-old plantations with a total of 1,500 vanilla cuttings. They expect to have the first flowering and harvest in 2021. 

By participating in this programme, Emprendedoras de Tierra Blanca seek to improve its vanilla production system by training its members and strengthening the organisation’s internal processes.  In doing so, they will achieve greater productivity from the vanilla plants. They would like to accomplish this goal through agroecological techniques.

 
 

For two or three years we have been planting vanilla with the shade trees of the coffee plants. We want to make life better for the Emprendedoras de Tierra Blanca group with products that are not harmful to the environment. Please come and visit us so that you can see how we work: organically, respecting the environment. We would also like to learn from our visitors.