Working with the communities

Learn more about our producers’ communities, their environment and customs as well as the quality and characteristics of their products.

Farming and Artisans: the Amuzgos, ethnical richness of Oaxaca
The Amuzgos live in the States of Oaxaca and Guerrero and they speak their indigenous language which is also called Amuzgo. Each Amuzgo village has its own specific name, for example; in San Pedro Amuzgo they call themselves “Tzjon Non” which means “people of the spinners or soft thread” and in Santa Maria Ipalapa they call themselves “Tzo´tyio” which means “Scrimp River”.
Amuzgos or Amochcos means, according to several studies, place where they have bookshops or libraries. According to Fernandez Gatica, Amuzgo means “between mountains”, a name which was first given to a village and later used to name an ethnic group.
The indigenous group “Mixtecos”, neighbors of San Pedro Amuzgos, calls the Amuzgos “ñuu ñama”, which means “people of corn husk” and the Amuzgos are known in Náhuatl as Amuchiti, which means “where they have tin”. The correct name is Amochce, according to the almanac of Oaxaca.

Territory, ecology and social reproduction
The Amuzgos of Oaxaca form, as well as other indigenous groups, small cultural and linguistic enclaves in the Mixtec region of the State of Oaxaca. The region of the Amuzgos is located between 1.640,42 feet and 2.952,76 feet above sea level, with hilly topography which goes through the mountainous area of the Yacayagua. The rivers Ometepec, Arena, Pulla, San Pedro and Santa Catarina run through this region and flow into the Pacific Ocean.
The climate is tropical and sub-humid in the low lands with abundant rainfalls from June until September. The vegetation exists mainly of native species.

The fauna is composed of mammals, reptiles and a large variety of birds. The following species can be found; badger, armadillo, raccoon, tiger, ocelot, coyote, anteater, porcupine, rabbit, squirrel, iguana and different types of snakes, etc.

Climate conditions and soil type favors the cultivation of corn, beans, chili, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin and sugar cane as well as the production of bananas, avocados, melon, water melon, oranges, lime, lemon, mango, papaya, tamarind, mandarin, coco, plum, coffee, cacao and sapodilla.

Three types of land property are identified in the Amuzgo region; communal land, common land ownership and private land. Land possession causes a lot of conflicts between the indigenous people and the “Mestizos”.
The Amuzgos suffered violent monopolizing and plundering of their land by the “Mestizos, who in conspiracy with the agricultural authorities took advantage of their local political power to usurp the communal land.