For the mostly poor, indigenous families of Guatemala's central highlands, access to productive farmland is a first step out of poverty. Using that land to break into lucrative agricultural markets is a critical leap forward.
Video: Land and Opportunity (Part 1: Owning the Land)
Playing the role of neutral mediator helps farmers and finqueros resolve land conflicts peacefully, setting the stage for economic advancement.
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Video: Land and Opportunity (Part 2: Tilling the Soil)
Training newly landed farmers and helping them sell to lucrative markets is the second step in Mercy Corps' approach to rural economic development.
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Video: A Community Abuzz
Raising honeybees has given the women of Nimlajacoc a profitable livelihood — and a renewed sense of purpose.
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Video: What Youth Can Do
Tucurú's youth are educating their community about the growing specter of HIV/AIDS. But they're also discovering their own potential.
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Won in Translation
Mercy Corps successfully turned around Tucurú's hospital in the late 1990s. And Carmelina Botzoc is a big reason why.
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Worth The Wait
Farmers in Alta Verapaz may have to wait 18 months before the first pineapple harvest, but they hope growing the sought-after fruits bring lasting change to their community.
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Earning Money and Respect
Extending credit to women has turned them into more than simply entrepreneurs.
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More Guatemala stories in the Archives
By Lisa Hoashi, August 29, 2007
Last May, Brian Maney accompanied Mercy Corps staffers on a week-long trip to Guatemala.
By Roger O. Burks, Jr., July 18, 2007
The terrain where both Tierra Linda and Milagro are situated was once abandoned land. Today it's at the center of a dispute, meetings and ongoing negotiation.
July 18, 2007
This document is to familiarize development practitioners with integrated land conflict mediation concepts and new programming opportunities.
Over the last five years, more than 89% of resources allocated directly to programs.