Sustainable development, campesino organizations and technological change among small coffee producers in Chiapas, Mexico

On the threshold of the 21st Century, rural poverty and environmental decline remain the rule throughout the third world, yet emergent examples of relatively successful peasant enterprises---many engaged in sustainable agriculture---provide an opportunity to analyze the elements that might be involved in more sustainable rural development policies for the future. In Chiapas, one of the most impoverished Mexican states, we find a critical case to study the mechanics of these rural experiences: a boom of peasant organizations producing coffee, often using "organic" production practices.; Mexico is the international leader in certified organic coffee, which is largely produced by small family farmers. Mostly indigenous Mayan peasants, ensconced in rugged mountain ranges and ravines across the poor southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, are the most important growers of organic coffee in the global economy. Moreover, during the 1980s and 1990s, these small coffee growers became perhaps the most organized sector of Mexico's reinvigorated peasant movement.; The goal of the research presented here is to analyze the critical elements involved in, and impacts of, this small farmer organic coffee boom in Chiapas. Using a theoretical framework that centers on the roles of social capital and natural capital in sustainable development, these two types of capital are explored in the context of sustainable rural development, defined in comparison to "conventional" development as offering a more equitable, ecologically sound and economically viable development track for the poor.; The research design is based on a socioeconomic and ecological survey of small coffee farmers stratified across different geographic regions of Chiapas, by different production technologies, and by membership in different coffee grower organizations. Complementary data was gathered through a review of the literature and interviews with key informants.; The results of this research support the notion that more sustainable development can be achieved through social capital formation and subsequent investment in natural capital or natural assets. This dissertation situates Mexican rural development in the context of the rich social capital formation that has taken place in coffee-growing areas, illustrating how social capital and investments in natural capital have shaped the success of rural experiences in poverty reduction and environmental enhancement.