Guatemala
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Photo: Jamie Grant for Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Lift indigenous Guatemalans out of poverty by providing access to land, better food and healthcare.
The context
About 80 percent of the population lives in poverty, partly because fertile land — the most important means of production in this agricultural economy — is concentrated in the hands of a few. Land reform since the end of its 36-year civil war in 1996 has advanced in fits and starts. The country also struggles with government corruption, high crime rates, crippled infrastructure and high rates of malnutrition.
Our work
- Conflict & Governance: Training communities to mediate land disputes that block rural development
- Agriculture & Food: Distributing food and providing nutrition education to mothers with young children; helping small farmer diversify crops, improve quality and increase revenues
- Health: Launching a network of pharmacies in previously unserved remote villages
All stories about Guatemala
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Guatemala: Meet our field staff: Carlos April 15, 2013
Fighting for the rights of rural communities comes naturally to Carlos. Find out why he's dedicated to improving lives in his own country.
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Guatemala: Juan Tista Toj, pharmacist in Guatemala February 13, 2013
More pharmacies will begin serving remote villages thanks to a pilot programme that Mercy Corps and partners are taking to scale throughout the country.
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Guatemala: Rapid response gets food to families after earthquake November 28, 2012
Mercy Corps works in some of the poorest communities in western Guatemala — which were at the epicenter of the 7.4 earthquake that struck the country on November 7, 2012.
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Guatemala: Speeding relief to earthquake survivors November 14, 2012
Mercy Corps is providing emergency food for families affected by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Guatemala last week.
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Guatemala: Amanda's mission: Women helping women July 17, 2012
Amanda Sacul’s job is twofold: to mediate disputes over land — disputes that prevent families from moving forward economically — and to train other indigenous women how to resolve these conflicts themselves.
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Guatemala: Planting better crops June 1, 2012
Seven-year-old Ancel Cual excitedly gets his hands dirty helping to plant yucca in his community of Corozal in the northern highlands of Guatemala.
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Guatemala: A seat at the table: Empowering women in land-conflict mediation April 23, 2012
Mercy Corps has been at the forefront of the movement to resolve land conflict in rural Guatemala since 2003. Meet the women who are now leading the charge.
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Guatemala: Women stake their claim in the land of machismo April 3, 2012
Their roots of land conflict may date to the Spanish conquistadors, but today we’re giving women the tools to resolve them without resorting to lawyers or guns.
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Guatemala: Land ownership yields stronger, healthier communities March 15, 2012
Families in the rural highlands are dependent on the land, but years of civil war have diminished resources. Find out how they are rebuilding from the ground up.
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Guatemala: Marching for change August 15, 2011
Hundreds of women in Guatemala paraded through the streets of Cobán on March 8 — International Women's Day — with a palpable feeling of pride and hope for the future.