Planting Trees and Growing Community: Women’s Reforestation Project
What is the Women's Reforestation Initiative?
A project that partners with a nursery run by Indigenous Maya women to plant native trees and provide economic opportunities for the local community.
Why is the project needed?
A history of state violence and oppression against the Indigenous peoples of Guatemala in order to prioritize the most fertile lands for large scale, export oriented, agriculture has contributed to a problem of deforestation in the country.
In order to escape civil wars that inflicted incredible violence on the Indigenous communities, many fled to the Highlands. As a result, the population density grows increasingly higher on limited, less fertile Highland terrain, and more land is needed to make space for agricultural production.
That space often comes at the expense of forested areas in the community as food production is of course a more immediate need.
Furthermore, with droughts and changing weather patterns, climate change has emphasized the need for opportunities to improve water access and quality, as well as income opportunities aside from single-crop agriculture. Not only would planting trees help with these aims, but it would also provide a means to address one of the most devastating effects of climate change on these communities -- mudslides.
Growing Community: It’s more than trees
A project to empower local women and foster sustainable, long term community growth
Opportunities for Change: Sustainable agriculture and more
A project addressing deforestation has the potential to bring positive change in aspects from food security to biodiversity and beyond.
In order to bring sustainable, long-term solutions, the reforestation project will be coupled with efforts to bring more opportunities for income as well as improved agricultural production. Seeing as the expansion of land for food production is one of the main contributors to deforestation in the area, it is essential that this need is first addressed so that forests are not in conflict with the community’s well-being. Therefore, the reforestation project will include workshops on sustainable agricultural methods as well as the construction of water catchment systems in local communities to increase the productivity and resilience of their own agricultural practices.
Reforestation and Sustainable Agriculture go hand in hand: HSP and AMA’s efforts
HSP and AMA’s Sustainable Agriculture Program
Fostering Agency
One of the key aims of this project is to provide opportunities for Indigenous women of the communities through engaging with AMA (Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano) and their Women’s Circles. Through these circles, women employed in the nursery will be able to build a network of support and have the power to make decisions that benefit their communities. Ultimately, their involvement in the program will create an increased sense of agency as they begin to see themselves as leaders in their communities.
Therefore, while the reforestation project will surely address environmental challenges such as preserving biodiversity, preventing erosion, and improving water retention and quality, this women-led initiative ultimately seeks to foster long-term growth through women’s empowerment while simultaneously building the communities’ resilience to climate change.