Qachuu Aloom ‘Mother Earth’ Association

Rabinal, Baja Verapaz Guatemala

Qachuu Aloom and the Garden’s Edge both came about from the same effort rooted in a rural Guatemalan village some 13 years ago. We brought the story of our experience in Guatemala back to the desert Southwest to share our experience and build support for our work through the Garden’s Edge.

We had no idea what to do with these seeds, but we knew they were precious, so we stored them in empty juice bottles and homemade paper envelopes.

With financial and technical support from The Garden’s Edge, in 2005, the Maya Achi families we were working with created Qachuu Aloom ‘Mother Earth’ Association which now has its own programs in seed saving, nutrition, microlending, scholarships and other programs.

Qachuu Aloom’s board of directors and staff in Guatemala are all local Maya Achi leaders whose dream is to preserve the cultural and agricultural traditions of their ancestors. They work in 24 villages, with 500 member families. They have offices, a health food store, and a visitors center with a seed bank, an Amaranth processing plant, a clinic for traditional medicine, and gardens in Rabinal. The majority of the organizations members are women working to rebuild their lives after decades of civil war and genocide against the Maya people. Qachuu Aloom gives them the confidence to actively participate in the development process and to become strong leaders and role models in their communities.

The Garden’s Edge maintains important ties to Qachuu Aloom, providing guidance and resources to support its programs.

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