Alipus was started by Los Danzantes to provide a market for family artisan distilleries. The intent was to provide small distilleries with a wider market so that they could stay in business, and it has worked! There are still hundreds of small mezcal distilleries in Oaxaca, and a number of them make fabulous product. Hector Vasquez and later Karina Abad Rojas have worked closely with selected small producers, both to improve their distillation methods and to help them with the complex paperwork required to certify their mezcals for export.