Sustainable Agriculture Guatemala Project #52727

"Seeds of Resilience: An Indigenous Women-Led Tree

by Highland Support Project

"Seeds of Resilience: An Indigenous Women-Led Tree

Project Report | Mar 18, 2022
4000 Trees Planted in the Last Six Months

By Diana Alvarado | HSP Communication

We are overwhelmed by the response to this project. Thank you for all your donations and support; in the last six months, we’ve planted 4000 trees in different cities from Guatemala: Quetzaltenango (Xecaracoj, Xepache, Chuicavioc, Tierra Colorada Alta, Santa Rita, Caserio Los Gonzalez, Cantel, Xecam, Olintepeque), Sololá (Xeabaj I) y San Marcos Sacatepequez (San Isidro Chamac).

"I'm grateful for all the trees you have planted today in my community because this will help our environment. We've optimized fuel use while we cook thanks to the training we received," said Esperanza, a woman who has benefited from the tree plantation and training.

The women in charge of the Tree Nursery in Espumpuja, San Juan Ostuncalco, have been struggling with the lack of water since the municipality from this area has prohibited water consumption for other activities like irrigation in the plantations, nurseries, or greenhouses. This community is at the top of a mountain, and the only way to provide them with water will be by using drip irrigation utilizing gravity distribution. We have joined forces with Paul Ackerman, a professor from York College who assists in designing a rainwater and storage system. Engineering students and professors are putting their efforts into developing the solution. Our priority has always been and will continue to be, increasing agency and empowerment in our partner communities. We want to join forces and keep raising funds to benefit all the people in this community, and funds will be to purchase and install the water catchments structure, tanks, and irrigation lines.

Thanks to our donors who support this project for helping us bring back the forest!

Links:

https://www.bonfire.com/growing-change-in-guate/

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Nov 5, 2021
Update: Sustainability Workshops and Reforestation

By Ben Blevins | CEO

reforestation efforts

This past week, funding brought in by the efforts of our Summer Fellows was used to work with families to improve their fuel use habits as well as to raise awareness on sustainable practices. As pictured above, our local community members were able to receive training on optimizing fuel use for cooking and improve the overall efficiency of their stoves. Additionally, a workshop on sustainable firewood production provided the opportunity to learn how to harvest trees without felling trees. This is especially important as it allows the trees to remain as a part of the environment and provide needed ecosystem services, as well as maintains the relationship between the trees and the rest of the ecosystem on a metaphysical level. Ultimately, the goal of these efforts is for AMA to support the success of the Women’s Reforestation Initiative by working with families to improve their fuel use habits as well as raise awareness on sustainable practices.

This example from our reforestation efforts not only points to the great progress the project is making, but highlights the benefits of our small scale model. For instance, the goal of our small team of fellows is to provide networking services and develop support for local, Indigenous-led projects. This summer, our team focused on raising funds for the women of Las Campanas Nursery to increase their tree production and for AMA to complement reforestation efforts with sustainability initiatives. This small scale ultimately allows for the local women to have the most leadership in their community efforts, and for our organization to function as a resource of support.

While some larger, industrially modeled organizations may be able to provide a higher number of physical trees, our priority has always been, and will continue to be, increasing agency and empowerment in our partner communities. Yes, some organizations can have quite impressive statistics on their annual trees planted, but in doing so, they ultimately prioritize the sheer number of trees over the active involvement of the community. Furthermore, having this industrial approach to environmental projects compromises its long term sustainability as a key factor of a project’s longevity is its relationship with the local community.

Ultimately, at HSP our primary objective is to support the behavioral health of the Indigenous communities that have been historically disempowered by societal structures of oppression, and because of this, we will always ensure that our projects meet the material as well as spiritual needs of the communities. Our highest priority will always be to provide transformational opportunities for empowerment and agency for our partners -- a standard that is hard at work in our Women’s Reforestation Initiative.

fuel use efficiency

sustainability workshop

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Jul 13, 2021
Growing Change: Updates & T-Shirts

By Madison Sweitzer | Outreach Director

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