 This
project started in 1997, when Earthways supported a permaculture
specialist to train four members of a Guatemala NGO, AFOPADI
(Association for Integrated Development) in organic food production.
AFOPADI set out to re-introduce organic agriculture into a
traditional Mayan village which was suffering extreme poverty,
malnutrition, and even starvation as a result of the war and
deaths of a large percentage of men in the region. Those traumas,
combined with centuries of being "done to" with
no power to control their own destiny, had left the region’s
inhabitants, and particularly the women, with a very passive
attitude. Thus, facilitators focused on both the practical
aspects of organic food production, storage and empowerment.
Trained local people known as promotores provide the backbone
for the projects. Key to their success is the fact that they
are local people who speak the indigenous language, Maya-Mam.
Workshops are not simply about teaching content. They provide
a forum for social interaction and promote openness to change.
One of the many routes to easing the fallout from poverty,
racism, sexism, and malnutrition lies in communal experiences
of problem solving. In particular, the indigenous women bear
the brunt of many of the social ills. Thus, the women’s
workshops are especially vital since they are conducted with
many young children present. Thus, the effects of these workshops
will likely be trans-generational.
Many projects have come into being during the
past decade of collaboration between Earthways, AFOPADI and
the villagers of Casaca, Guatemala. These encompass health,
education and agriculture, all of which are inextricably linked.
Highlights of the agricultural element include: the building
of a Resource House and a factory to produce both communal
and individual silos for corn-storage; the training of local
people to instruct each other in a variety of projects including
the return to organic agriculture and the manufacture of silos;
the reimplementation of permaculture including organic compost,
vermiculture and composting toilets, grey-water recycling
& solar power; reforestation including nurseries; and
medicinal gardens.
These projects have achieved such success that
they are now serving as a model for many of the surrounding
villages in this rural mountainous region of Northwest Guatemala.
If you would like to witness this sustainable project in the
process of growth, please contact us about ways to donate
and to visit the projects. Julie Siegel makes an annual Project
Evaluation Visit. Donors are invited to accompany her to Casaca
and stay in the AFOPADI Resource House.
Contact: Earthways Project Director for Mayan Food Security
Program
Julie Siegel
J. Siegel Designs, Inc.
P.O. Box 167
Evanston, IL 60204-0167
Email: julie@jsiegeldesigns.com
Phone: (847) 733-9854 Fax: (847) 733-9864 |
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