Santa María Guienagati is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

in south-western

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is in the north of the

Tehuantepec District Tehuantepec District is located in the west of the Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Istmo Region of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico. It includes the cities of Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec. Gallery File:Salina Cruz Bay.jpg, Salina Cruz Bay, the largest an ...

in the west of the Istmo Region. The town was first settled by Zapotec migrants from

Zaachila Zaachila (the Zapotec name; Nahuatl: ''Teotzapotlan''; Mixtec: ''Ñuhu Tocuisi'') was a powerful Mesoamerican city in what is now Oaxaca, Mexico, from the city of Oaxaca. The city is named after Zaachila Yoo, the Zapotec ruler, in the late 14 ...

, and the name Guienagati comes from Zapotec words meaning "Wilted Flower".

Geography

The municipality covers an area of 211.79 km². The town is at an altitude of 310 meters above sea level. The area is mountainous, with a warm, dry climate. Vegetation includes pochote, cocoa, mahogany, guirisiña, cedar, pine, pitch pine and fruit trees. Wild fauna include deer, iguanas and armadillos. There is an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

center in the Chayotopec community of the municipality, accessible from the town via a dirt road. The center provides accommodation and arranges hiking and birdwatching, visits to coffee production facilities and local food.

Economy

As of 2005, the municipality had 656 households with a total population of 2,911 of whom 684 spoke an indigenous language. The town is connected by a paved road to Ciudad Ixtepec and is served by a bus run by the Union of Zapotec and

Mixe Mixe may refer to: * Mixe people, an ethnic group of Oaxaca, Mexica * Mixe languages, the group of languages spoken by them * Sierra Mixe The Sierra Mixe or Mixes District is a district in the east of the Sierra Norte Region of the Mexican sta ...

People of the Isthmus (). The main economic activity is cultivation of coffee, corn and fruit. There is also some cattle farming, and hunting and fishing for private consumption. Some people are involved in logging. In 1982 the farmers of Santa Maria Guienagati and Guevea de Humboldt, with advice from Jesuit mission team from the Diocese of Tehuantepec, formed the

Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Uni ...

to help gain better prices for their coffee crop. They were later joined by farmers from other communities in the

Sierra Mixe The Sierra Mixe or Mixes District is a district in the east of the Sierra Norte Region of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It comprises 17 municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corp ...

and northern

Isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

region. The cooperative, which gained legal status in 1983, assists in technical and financial assistance for local manufactures, as well as storage, transportation and national and international marketing of the products, of which the most important is coffee. As it matured, it paid increased attention to the requirements of women and youth, and to health, education and nutrition. The cooperative gained certification for its members' organic farming, and has established links to fair trade organizations to improve the prices received.

References

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