Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region

The Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region (Spanish: Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Región del Istmo, or UCIRI), is a farmer's cooperative in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It was established in 1982 to assist in production, marketing and distribution of locally produced coffee and other products. UCIRI was a pioneer of organic coffee production and one of the first fair trade suppliers.

Until the late 1970s the small coffee farmers of the Santa Maria Guienagati and Guevea de Humboldt municipalities in the Tehuantepec District of the Istmo Region of Oaxaca did not have roads and transport to get their product to market, and lacked bargaining power with the freelance coffee buyers. However, loggers built rough roads in the 1970s, and the roads were maintained after the loggers left or were driven out. The producers began selling direct to Inmecafe, the Mexican Institute of Coffee, which paid more than the middlemen.

In 1982 the farmers of the two municipalities, with advice from a Jesuit mission team from the Diocese of Tehuantepec, formed the UCIRI to help gain better prices for their coffee crop. They were later joined by farmers from other communities in the Sierra Mixe and northern Isthmus region. UCIRI gained legal status in 1983 and established contact with ARIC (Asociaciones Rurales de Interés Colectivo), a growers organization which had part of the Mexican export quota under the International Coffee Agreement. Early years were difficult. The cooperative struggled to obtain financing and faced bureaucratic obstacles. They had to learn the many processes involved in producing and delivering a consistent product, from buying sacks to quality control and transport. They also had to learn all the financial aspects of running a business.

By 1986 the cooperative was producing more than the 8,000 sacks of coffee that could be absorbed by the "alternative trade" movement. The UCIRI launched an appeal that led directly to the creation of the Dutch Max Havelaar Foundation, which now unites 23 fair trade producer and labelling initiatives. The Max Havelaar label, the world's first Fairtrade Certification Mark, was officially launched by Stichting Max Havelaar on 15 November 1988. One of the founders of Max Havelaar, Frans van der Hoff, later joined the staff of UCIRI.

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