Coffee agriculture has occupied the most important place in the Guatemalan economy since it was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century. Guatemalan coffee has been dependent on the Mayan indigenous people as the source of the labor. The government has attempted to abolish the traditional society and encourage them into the capitalist market of coffee. The indigenous people became temporally labor only when they needed money, and therefore managed to conserve their traditional lifestyles. This is the History of Guatemalan coffee in preceded studies. This is why these studies presume that each Guatemalan indigenous society has essential body such as the concept “closed corporate peasant community” Eric Wolf conceived. This is discussed concerned with the Handy's comment on this concept. These are presented in section 1.
　　　One Mayan village in Sololá province, ‘San Pedro La Laguna’ is chosen as the case for this paper. Contrary to other indigenous communities, in the second half of the 20th century, San Pedro’s coffee cultivation was widely developed by the local habitants themselves. Now, about 90％ of households manage their own cultivation, if only on a small scale. The economic effect of coffee has caused dramatic changes in the lifestyle of the habitants and the traditional community has become very similar to a capitalist society. But can we think this change as such a simple change to capitalism? For this matter, in sections 2 and 3, the process in which the San Pedro’ inhabitants have introduced coffee cultivation is discussed in detail, with the focus on shifting labor to the southern lowlands where coffee capitalism in inherent.
　　　In the final section, I will conclude that the introduction of coffee in San Pedro caused not simple evolution into capitalist society but a unique change owing to various social, economic, cultural and political changes in Guatemala. Being based on this case of San Pedro, it is proposed that the Guatemalan indigenous community should not be understood referred to the substantial concept such as the preceded “closed community” , but be considered as the process itself of inhabitants of community who move due to various motivations.