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. Ultimately, this project aims to develop the ‘labour rift’ framework which addresses the non-material aspects of the environmental crisis and rural agricultural production focusing on labour in the Latin American context, for a fundamental rethinking of economically and ecologically sustainable agriculture. Through my DPhil project, I want to explore alternative ways to preserve ecological and cultural diversity.