Women’s Reforestation Project: Plant 1,000 Trees & Grow Community in Guatemala
Growing Change
This blog was written by our summer intern, Sofia Ringvald.
Highland Support Project's reforestation efforts empower Indigenous women in the highlands of Guatemala by planting 1,000 trees. A project addressing deforestation has the potential to bring positive change in aspects from food security to biodiversity and beyond. Explore more about the research and design behind this project in the logical frameworks below.
The Importance of this Project
Our goal is to address the effects of deforestation and provide long-term growth and community empowerment. By allocating a space for communal and agricultural growth, women of the community are able to reconnect with nature and combat colonization and patriarchy by regaining control of their own land. This reforestation project will engage the local community in sustainable agriculture while also increasing their incomes and economic resiliency.
What Sets this Project Apart
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 are able to build a network of support and have the power to make decisions that benefit their communities, and create an increased sense of agency as they begin to see themselves as leaders and in their communities. The project is a women-led effort to combat climate change while encouraging female empowerment both economically and socially and employment in a unique and sustainable way.
Incorporation of a T-Shirt Launch
Alongside our Global Giving page and advertisements on social media, HSP is participating in a t-shirt launch where all the proceeds will directly benefit the reforestation project. Reforestation will rebuild the home for Guatemala's diverse wildlife population, including the threatened national bird featured on this shirt, the Quetzal.
