Support vocational training, sustainable agriculture, and reforestation on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.
WHY LAKE ATITLÁN, GUATEMALA?
The municipality of Santa Cruz La Laguna sits on the shore of Lake Atitlán, in the department of Sololá. The municipality is populated almost entirely by Kaq’chikel Maya. WELLKIND Guatemala empowers the indigenous community of Tzununá, one of six villages on the lake.
It is reported that 70% of people living around Lake Atitlán live in poverty, and 32% in absolute poverty. As many as 66% of children under the age of five in the department of Sololá are stunted due to poor nutrition. In the Western Highlands, only 62% of Guatemalans reach high school. Across the municipality of Santa Cruz La Laguna, this rate has consistently been lower for women than for men, making it much harder for women to work.
Environmental degradation amplifies these economic and social challenges. Lake Atitlán is Central America’s largest drinking water source. However, only around 20% of sewage produced by the lake community is treated. Untreated wastewater ends up in rivers, the lake itself, or into open grounds. Along with pollution, there are four other major threats to the lake: terrestrial and aquatic habitat degradation, the loss of forest cover, cyanobacteria blooms, and a vulnerability to hurricanes and other extreme weather events.
Catalina, head supervisor of WELLKIND Guatemala’s community gardens.
Catalina’s biggest goal is to open her own weaving business. She believes this will empower local women and help them become financially independent from their husbands. She told us, “It is really troubling to see so many women struggling because of their husband’s irresponsibility, and I dream of a day when I can help them out.”
WELLKIND & One Day’s wages
WELLKIND Guatemala is partnering with One Day’s Wages to support food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability in Tzununá. In collaboration with local leaders and community members, we work at the intersection of these initiatives by planting food forests and organic home gardens. These block the flow of pollutants into Lake Atitlán, help families boost their consumption of healthy greens, and offer planters excess fruits and vegetables that they can sell at the local market. In addition, WELLKIND Guatemala manages a weaving co-operative for indigenous women artisans. The women earn fair trade wages for their work, making enough to cover food and clothes for their families and to send their children to school.
Over the course of a year, our partnership will plant 5,000 new trees, build 50 new home gardens, and train 40 women to join the weaving co-op. This fundraiser will not only help us continue our work in Tzununá, but will also support expansion into neighboring villages.
JOIN US
Join us in empowering the Kaq’chikel Maya to build economic, social, and environmental sustainability on the shores of Lake Atitlán. Every dollar given will be matched by One Day’s Wages for a total grant of $31,050. 100% of all donations (minus credit card fees) go to WELLKIND Guatemala. That means that every dollar you donate on the One Day’s Wages website will raise two dollars for our projects.
Thank you
Thank you for your support of WELLKIND Guatemala and the village of Tzununá.