This qualitative and interdisciplinary study aims to explore the intricate dynamics that influence ecologically and economically sustainable coffee production through a case study of smallholder shade coffee production in Oaxaca, Mexico. I look into two different socio-political layers of coffee production: rural labour and public policy. Rural labour will be studied by analysing the transformation of farming practices associated with local knowledge and for public policy, government agricultural policies will be examined: Sembrando Vida and Producción para el Bienestar.