CODECH is the Coordinator of Development Organizations in Concepción Huista (Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Desarrollo de Concepción Huista in Spanish) , founded by three groups: 1) the organization of coffee producers, 2) the organization of midwives and 3) the municipal teachers' council in the year 2000. CODECH arises from the need to market and sell coffee from local producers. Thirty-seven percent of the farmers in this non-profit organization are women, who initially participated as midwives. Over time the project has opened to support the development of women in the region.

Coffees from the women members of CODECH were among the earliest catalysts for the creation and expansion of our Women Coffee Producer program. CODECH (Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Desarrollo de Concepcion Huista) is a second-level cooperative that comprises 10 member organizations; it was founded in 1998 in an effort to provide alternative development opportunities within the community of Concepcion Huista, Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

One of CODECH’s primary objectives is to increase women’s equity, and the association also provides services and support for members such as educational and professional workshops, medical attention, correspondence classes, agriculture extension services, and self-esteem and leadership forums.

The associations of CODECH separate coffee from the participating women members, who each own and/or manage their own farms. The women are paid a premium for their coffee, and they have agreed as a group to apply half of the premium to health-care programs and workshops specifically targeting the high infant-mortality rate in Concepcion Huista.