Alrededor del lago de Atitlán, ubicado en la falda del volcán San Pedro, se encuentra la aldea San Antonio Chacayá, municipio Santiago Atitlán. Esta comunidad es pequeña y sus residentes son indígenas T’zutujiles, para quienes su principal fuente de ingresos es la producción del café y la mostacilla.

Chacayá es una comunidad rural donde la pobreza se siente, con limitado acceso al transporte y escasos recursos educativos.  Pero a través de una colaboración entre el Cocode, la Alcadia Auxiliar, Pueblo a Pueblo y la fundación ECOM, se ha construido una Escuela Satelital que expande las oportunidades económicas futuras de la comunidad y también actúa como una ventana al mundo. 

En la Escuela Satelital existen una variedad de cursos en línea dando la oportunidad de aprender en diferentes temáticas: agricultura, mecánica, inglés, matemáticas, negocios, diseño de joyas en mostacilla, entre otras. Los estudiantes que completan un curso obtienen diplomas certificados por la Universidad de Monterrey en México.

Los estudiantes, quienes la mayoría nunca en sus vidas han visto una computadora, están emocionados al usar esta nueva tecnología. Al mismo tiempo los profesores de las escuelas oficiales están planeando aprovechar la Escuela Satelital para reforzar las lecciones que enseñan a sus estudiantes en clase. 

Evidentemente habrá obstáculos que superar. “Hay un nivel muy alto de analfabetismo en Chacayá, especialmente en las mujeres,” dijo Bárbara Sosof, consultora de Pueblo a Pueblo para la coordinación de este proyecto. “Hay la idea [entre la gente] de que si no puedes leer o escribir, no puedes usar una computadora.  Pero no sé si es la verdad”.

“Imagínate un niño de tres años. No puede leer ni escribir pero conoce como usar un celular. En esta manera, la tecnología puede ser un recurso de aprendizaje para reforzar el alfabetismo” comenta Bárbara. 

También el idioma podría verse como un obstáculo, ya que la mayoría de residentes de Chacayá hablan el idioma maya T’zutujil, pero las clases se desarrollaran en Español.  Por eso, la Escuela Satelital cuenta con dos tutores originarios de Chacayá para apoyar a los estudiantes en sus clases, especialmente con la traducción de Español a T’zutujil. 

Este proyecto ha sido posible gracias a la Fundación ECOM, una organización estadounidense sin fines de lucro. La organización fue fundada en 2006 para mejorar las vidas de las personas relacionadas con la producción de café y  otros productos, y proveer fondos a proyectos que respondan a las necesidades de salud, educación y vivienda de los productores. 

Pueblo a Pueblo y la Fundación ECOM han colaborado para traer la primera Escuela Satelital a Guatemala, siguiendo escuelas exitosas ya en México y El Salvador. 
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On the shores of Lake Atitlan, tucked away at the tip of an inlet and nestled into the surrounding mountains, sits the town of Chacayá. Its residents are T’zutujil Maya, who depend on coffee and the production of a beaded jewelry, called mostacilla, for their livelihood. 

Chacaya is a rural community with widespread poverty that has limited access to transportation and most educational opportunities. However, thanks to a partnership between the Chacaya Development Council, Pueblo a Pueblo and ECOM Foundation, a recently completed internet satellite school promises to broaden economic opportunities and serve as a window to the wider world.  

The school, which has been certified through the Universidad Tecnico de Monterrey Mexico, is making it possible for all community members – adults and students alike – to attend a variety of classes, ranging from agriculture to mechanics, English to mathematics, and business management to even a mostacilla design course that can improve the quality of the community’s handiwork. 

Students, majority of whom have never seen a computer before, are eager to use this new technology. While teachers from the two local primary schools already have plans to use the computer lab as a way to reinforce the lessons they teach in class.

Despite the excitement, the organizers don’t expect everything to be easy. “There are high levels of illiteracy in Chacayá, especially among women,” said Barbara Sosof, a consultant for Pueblo a Pueblo who coordinated the lab’s implementation. “The general thought is that if you can’t read or write, then you’re less likely to use a computer but I don’t know if that’s true.” 

“Look at a small child,” she said. “Many are too young to read or write, but they all quickly learn how to use a cellphone. In that way, the lab can be used as a learning tool to reinforce literacy.” 

Anticipating that language could be another obstacle to success, the organizers have hired two former teachers as lab technicians. In addition to their normal responsibilities, they have been trained to translate Spanish classes into T’zutujil, the Mayan language spoken by 99% of Chacaya’s residents. 

This project was launched by ECOM Foundation, the non-profit arm of the second-largest coffee trading entity in the world. The organization was founded in 2006 to improve the lives of people who produce coffee and other soft commodities through projects that address healthcare, education, and housing needs. 

Pueblo a Pueblo and ECOM Foundation have collaborated to bring the first internet satellite school to Guatemala, following successful implementation of similar schools in small, coffee-producing communities in Mexico and El Salvador. 

In March our school health and hygiene projects engaged new community members through the creation of WASH Support Committees and the introduction of our Student Hygiene Brigades.

WASH Support Committees were initiated in the elementary schools of Panimaquip, Totolya, and Tzanchaj. Each committee is represented by the school director, a teacher, a representative from the Student Hygiene Brigade, and three parents from the school. The groups meet regularly to support the schools in finding and implementing solutions to the challenges of maintaining water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure and good health habits.

For example, in the community of Totolya, the WASH Support Committee encourages healthy behavior despite the frequent water shortages that occur in the school. To address these water shortages, parent committee members suggested that each student bring water from home that can be used for hand-washing. Thanks to their input, local families in Totolya are now encouraging new ways to further good hygiene habits.   

Our Student Hygiene Brigades also began their monthly meetings in March. These groups of six student representatives from the 4th and 5th grades were established in the schools of Panimaquip and Totolya. The students were chosen because of their interest in WASH classes and serve as role models for healthy behaviors and educate younger students on the benefits of washing hands with soap.

By involving students, parents, and school personnel in decisions regarding sanitation infrastructure and in disseminating hygiene information, we empower community members to champion healthy practices in their communities. As a result, we have more support for community health initiatives and see healthier habits being practiced by students, their families, and throughout rural communities in Guatemala. 

Though the looming rainy season signifies the end of the honey harvest, there’s still plenty of buzz surrounding the Beekeeping project at Pueblo a Pueblo. 

Aj Tikonel Kab’, the local association of beekeepers, produced over 600 pounds of honey since the season started in December. As a comparison, last year’s honey harvest yielded only 250 pounds. 

The reasons for this rapid growth are two-fold. First, a new participating group of coffee producers from Totolya added their harvested honey to the total product.  Second, the association members from Pampojila used their income from last year’s harvest to invest in expanding their apiary from ten hives to 25! 

The association’s new goal is to produce enough honey to sell year round and it seems attainable as next year will bring even more growth with the introduction of a third group of honey producers from Panimaquip.  

Recently, a group hailing from St. Paul Episcopal Church in Bellingham, Washington visited the project and apiaries. The group, composed of 18 volunteers, was in Santiago Atitlan for a week and provided hands-on support to various projects at Pueblo a Pueblo. One of the most important activities they completed was the construction of ten bee hive boxes for our program participants. 

These hive boxes are essential for honey production. Depending on their placement, the boxes can either be used as spaces for bee reproduction, where the brood (bee eggs) are held, or as “honey super boxes”, where they serve as places for bees to store new honey. Either way, these ten new boxes will ensure the beekeepers a head start going into next year’s honey season. 

As this year’s harvest winds down, the association will focus on looking for new buyers and expanding their sales market but, above all, they’ll be keeping the bees healthy and maintaining the colonies so they’ll be ready for another productive honey season next year!