Tenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Mezcal is a Mexican spirit known for its artisanal small-scale production in rural and indigenous areas. In the last twenty years, Mezcal demand has increased at a global level, involving producers in the complex dynamics of global value chains. This research aims to contribute to our understanding of the different strategies that indigenous producers use to interact with global markets. Through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and participatory satellite imagery classification in the mezcal producer community of San Juan del Rio, Oaxaca, Mexico, we document how the growing demand of mezcal is causing pressure on community institutions and lands. Furthermore, our results show the individual and collective strategies that producers use to respond to these pressures. The strategies include the strengthening of the community institutions that rule the management of natural resources; the creation of groups of producers as a way to increase their production capacity and reduce their vulnerability in the market; the creation of own brands (individual and collective) to upgrade their position in the value chain; and the use of young generations’ skills and knowledge to market their mezcal. While it is often assumed that small producers will succumb to pressures of global markets leading to the collapse of collective institutions, degraded natural resource, and capture of value chains by more powerful actors, people in San Juan del Rio are struggling to find a different pathway for their community to benefit from, and not be damaged by, the global value of artisanal mezcal.