The silver lining to Mexico’s coffee rust epidemic and workforce migration away from abandoned coffee farms in the 2010's was the shift in social norms for women in agriculture. In traditional cultural roles, women often had limited access to resources, education, employment, and decision-making, even though they’ve always played an essential part in farming, entrepreneurship, and preservation of cultural heritage. This left female coffee farmers particularly vulnerable to inequality and exclusion. The 212 Chiapas-area women growers who contributed coffee to this lot work just 1.8 hectares of land on average. They are smallholders, but they are united in their effort to eliminate gender inequality and expand economic opportunities for women in Mexico.

The Chiapas region of Mexico is located along the border of Guatemala and is known for very rich volcanic soil and plentiful rainfall, making the region ideal for coffee growing. The economy is driven largely by agriculture and coffee is the main cash crop. The Chiapas Region contitutes 44% of all coffee grown in Mexico.