San Miguel de Los Altos, Guatemala

Partner

  • Ulew Che’ Ja' (Earth, Trees, Water)

Ulew Che Ja Women
Ulew Che' Ja' community volunteers/B.Green

 

Earth, Trees, Water is a 500-member volunteer organization serving 62 local Maya Quiché communities in the western highlands city of Totonicapán. It affirms the rights of indigenous people and implements community development and conservation projects that strengthen traditional practices. The 52,000-acre forest it protects is one of the last old growth forests in the region and has been protected by indigenous communities for 800 years. It ensures a clean water supply for 50,000 people in the region.

Members of Earth, Trees, Water have set up a compensation for ecosystem services mechanism whereby community members provide regular labor to protect watersheds in exchange for the clean water supply they receive. This system allows the communities to protect 1,200 fresh water springs by conducting regular forest patrols, maintaining potable water systems, and reforesting vulnerable and degraded areas.

The results described below were made possible by the support EcoLogic provides in partnership.

Results

Forests

  • Helped establish the organization's first large-scale reforestation effort to restore
    degraded water catchment areas in and around their villages and forests
  • Planted 70,000 trees using a new, more efficient reforestation technology
  • Designed, published, and distributed written guidelines for community members on sustainable forest use

Water

  • Established award-winning design and execution of compensation for ecosystem services mechanism in the form of volunteer community service

Sustainable Livelihoods

  • Installed clean burning stoves that decrease fuel wood use by 60% and improve respiratory conditions in the home

Community Self-Determination

  • Facilitated external grant award which made possible the restructuring of the Board cycle, greatly increasing capacity for long term projects
  • Sponsored organization's Executive Director Pedro Rosales’ participation in the 4th World Water Forum, where the group was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Kyoto Water Prize. This recognized Earth, Trees, Water as one of the top 10 local organizations in the world working to address the growing water crisis.
  • Successfully defended community water rights from threat of privatization

    Looking Forward

    • Incorporate 10 new water committees into association
    • Complete additional 350 clean burning stoves
    • Initiate planting of 20,000 pinabete trees
    • Reforest 100,000 native coniferous trees
    • Begin collection and sale of tree seeds

     

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