Lifeways of families in coffee-growing territories: vulnerability and response capacity

Abstract

Multilateral and research organizations have developed studies in coffee-growing zones that are focused on sustainable livelihoods; however, the origin of this research and its emphasis on capital limits the explanatory capacity of this approach. To overcome this gap in knowledge and analysis, we developed the lifeways and territorial innovation approach that has been used in research in Chiapas, Mexico, through quantitative and qualitative methodology: workshops and interviews, with the aim of analysing complementarity between capital, strategy, expected results and values of the lifeways of coffee-growing families that facilitate or limit their capacity of response to problems. Our study identified that generational change, coffee pests and diseases, the effects of climate change and the volatility of coffee prices and staple crops are the principal problems that, depending on the typology of the coffee-growing territory (the dynamics of the regime, transition to local initiatives, identity appropriation, appropriation and autonomy), affect each family differently.