Qachuu Aloom, Guatemala - Community Tourism
We have hosted high-school spring break volunteer groups, where students plant trees, build ovens, and visit local schools and villages. We have also worked with University groups studying sustainable development, groups who come to learn about Human Rights, and groups interested in learning about traditional arts.
These trips offer visitors a very off- the-beaten-path experience, and can focus on some or all of the following: Sustainable Development, Agriculture, Human Rights, Volunteerism, Micro-lending, Permaculture, Arts, Mayan Culture, and visits to popular tourist sites like Lake Atitlan, and Antigua. Additionally, there is the opportunity to practice your Spanish skills if you are a speaker or want to learn. We can arrange a private or group tutor and/or home stay.
The groups must have a minimum of ten people and on average last 7 to 10 days.
We arrange food, lodging, transportation, and all activities. Community Tourism that respects local culture can play an important role in positive economic development for rural areas.
“It was so fulfilling to be able to plant, build or cook with the Guatemalan people. To know that the trees we planted will grow into food and medicine for people and the stove will allow people to eat, made me feel good inside.” 11th grader Hackley Highschool, New York
“Speaking to kids my age unlocked a completely new perspective on the culture.” Hackley Student
“I have spent months thinking about the trip, the experience has continued to impact me and changed the way I view life.”
In 2009, Women farmers and seed savers from Qachuu Aloom designed and taught their own workshops for other aspiring Guatemalan women farmers. Women from the Alta Verapaz region visited our center to participate in a 4 month farming course. All the workshops were taught by women in their own gardens! The visiting women returned home to their villages excited to establish their own gardens.
It was such a proud moment for the women of Qachuu Aloom to be able to share their skills and hard work with other women, and to evolve from Qachuu Aloom project participants to leaders and teachers of sustainable agriculture.
There is nothing like a peer-teaching model to inspire action and change!