Bankilal - Fully Washed

Sourced through Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos, a Mexico and UK based coffee export and import business, 'Bankilal' is a community lot originating from five high-altitude indigenous Tzeltal communities within the municipality of Tenejapa in the Altos de Chiapas region: Sibactel, Yetzukum, Chixtontik, Majosik, and Kotolté. The name was chosen collaboratively between Ensambles and the producers themselves—in Tzeltal Indigenous culture, Bankilal refers to a highly respected figure whose duty is to care for the community above self-interest, making it a name that deeply represents its origin and cultural context.

This specific lot is produced by a dedicated group of 16 smallholder farmers (6 women and 10 men). Grown between 1,300 and 1,500 masl, these heirloom coffee trees flourish within traditional polycultures, sheltered by a native shade canopy alongside ancestral milpa crops (maize, beans, and squash).

Collaborating with the Bios Terra Institute, Ensambles leads year-round technical field training across these communities. This partnership empowers local growers to navigate climate resilience, water management, and organic soil health, connecting indigenous producers directly to specialty markets while protecting traditional biodiversity.

Expect a wonderfully rich, inviting cup that perfectly balances chocolatey, sweet toffee notes with a fruity hint of ripe juicy oranges.

Social Kontext

In the Tzeltal Indigenous communities of Tenejapa, coffee cultivation is deeply intertwined with family life and collective governance. Ensambles' fieldwork across Sibactel, Yetzukum, Chixtontik, Majosik, and Kotolté focuses on improving families' overall quality of life by bridging market gaps and providing free agronomic training. Additionally, agricultural duties are complemented by traditional animal husbandry—specifically sheep managed primarily by the women of the group, providing both organic fertilizer for farms and wool for artisanal textiles.

Economic Kontext

Despite producing world-class high-altitude coffees, smallholders in Tenejapa encounter severe economic hurdles, including poor road infrastructure, labour migration, and historically limited market access. Ensambles addresses these obstacles by creating direct, transparent commercial links between Tzeltal growers and international specialty roasters. By refining harvest and post-harvest practices alongside field technicians, this group of 16 producers earns higher specialty premiums, offering reliable economic stability against regional financial pressures.

Environmental Kontext

The region faces environmental threats from expanding agribusiness monocultures, which cause local deforestation and impact water filtration. To combat this, producers in Tenejapa preserve ancestral agroforestry and milpa systems, utilizing coffee shade trees to conserve native biodiversity and enhance ecosystem health. The ancestral milpa is an intercropping system where staple crops like maize, beans, squash, and chilies are grown together, naturally replenishing soil nutrients and maximizing land efficiency without reliance on chemical fertilisers. Following severe coffee leaf rust outbreaks in lower-lying areas, farmers are supported with field training to implement environmentally responsible practices and cultivate resilient varieties—ensuring long-term ecological balance.