San Juan Comalapa is one of the 16 municipalities of the Department of Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Located 48km from Guatemala City, in the central highlands, Chimaltenango sits at an elevation almost 2,000 metres above sea level. Here, farming reigns supreme.
The majority of the population are indigenous Mayan-Kaqchikel peoples who keep alive the region’s ancestral practices, values, and knowledge. The livelihoods of families in these communities are primarily based on agricultural production, and their main income comes from their harvests.
In these territories, youth frequently migrate to other countries due to the lack of employment and business opportunities. Young indigenous women are the most affected, having fewer possibilities to get well-remunerated jobs.
Creating opportunities
To stem this outmigration, and provide viable livelihoods in San Juan Comalapa, the Comalapan Producers Association (Asociación de Productores Comalapenses [ASPROC]) is an organization dedicated to regenerative agriculture in the region.
With the mission to improve production processes, contributing to agricultural, environmental, social and economic development, ASPROC provides capacity-building and training activities for young farmers in the region. ASPROC was launched in 2011 with a group of young people looking to improve their livelihoods, as well as the living conditions of other community members.
Farm-to-table
The nascent youth group began with the purpose of exchanging good agroecological practices and recovering ancestral knowledge to produce tomatoes under controlled conditions. Over time, they recognized the necessity of establishing a formal association for the production of organic vegetables - such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers - in greenhouses to sell in local markets. One of the main objectives of ASPROC is to lead training activities for young people to strengthen their agricultural capacities for the facilitation of bio-inputs and biofertilizers to support the production of organic vegetables.
This initiative is part of the Global Support Initiative to territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCA-GSI). The ICCA-GSI is funded by the Government of Germany, through its Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and delivered by the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP).