If you are thinking a year ahead – sow seed.
If you are thinking 10 years ahead – plant a tree.
If you are thinking 100 years ahead – educate the people.
 Chinese poet Kuan Tzu (ca. 500 BC)

Petén Agricultural Cooperatives

Tanhoc is one of the indigenous communities and agricultural co-operative in the departamento de Petén, northeastern Guatemala (Tanhoc, as seen by Google Earth), where Pueblo Partisans has one of its current projects:

     Community Consultation
     Education Credits Project
     Women, Community Health and Education Project
     Upcoming Goals for the Tanhoc Project
     Update on Current Education Activities
     Ceremony to Pay Down a Consessional Loan
     Ringing in the new: Path for 2009

Images from Tanhoc
   General images of Tanhoc

Community Consultation

In September 2006, Pueblo Partisans began community consultations in the Q’eqchi’ indigenous community of Tanhoc. These discussions carried the primary goal of understanding the community’s core strengths and potential areas of growth. Pueblo Partisans paid specific attention to women and youth during the consultation process. The discussions where conducted in Q’eqchi’, with the assistance of native speaker, community member and current Pueblo Partisans - Guatemala Rural Coordinator, Francisco Cuz.

Education Credits Project

The people of Tanhoc requested that Pueblo Partisans assist them in developing a project that would allow them to gain full legal title to their land. Pueblo Partisans combined the community’s need for land security with a desire from all sectors of the community to improve their educational opportunities. The project allows for the capital-poor community of Tanhoc to earn land title for their agricultural co-operative through verifiable enhancement of residents’ level of education. Previous efforts to obtain land title through a government loan program failed, as the community was unable to make payments. Pueblo Partisans provides an education credit for each community member that successfully completes a grade level at a Guatemalan Ministry of Education - approved institution or successfully completes a course in a self-defined program of Pueblo Partisans community development workshops. Recent workshops have included community planning, animal husbandry (pigs), and environmental restoration. Education credits, in turn, are applied to the annual installment of a renegotiated concessional Guatemalan Land Fund (FONTIERRAS) loan. The sixth and final land payment will be made on October 28, 2011. Credits are weighted to favour female achievements in education, to offset the unique obstacles women encounter in trying to pursue their educational goals. By way of this project, Tanhoc residents should be able to obtain clear land title by 2010 while improving their skills in such areas as sustainable livelihood, literacy and health.

Women, Community Health and Education Project

Pueblo Partisans is seeking to expand its commitment to the community of Tanhoc by working to develop a community health and education project in Tanhoc with a focus on women. Amy Backes, RN, BScN, is acting as Pueblo Partisans’ representative in the community and is engaging the community in consultations, demand-based workshops, information gathering, and other activities to attempt to build local capacity for positive health outcomes. This project arose from an expressed desire for assistance in the area of health by members of the Tanhoc community- as particularly requested by women.

The Chance to Move Forward

These projects provide a unique opportunity for both Pueblo Partisans and for the community. With the handover of Pueblo Partisans’ project in Comitancillo, work in Tanhoc will allow the organization to continue a permanent presence in the country and to employ knowledge gained in its previous work.

For the people of Tanhoc, this opportunity represents a genuine opportunity to overcome the divisions and subsistence existence that has existed since the community was formed in 1976. Established at the height of Guatemala’s violent 36 year civil war as torture became a tool of public policy, Tanhoc became a refuge of last resort for indigenous K’ekchi people forced to flee their communities.

Tanhoc was established to provide a place to start anew for the traumatized and displaced. The roughly 250 residents that now live in Tanhoc emerged from the ranks of the roughly 200,000, mostly indigenous, Guatemalans internally displaced by the civil war. It is estimated that during the conflict, about 20% of the country’s population, or 1.5 million people, were at least temporarily displaced.

Addressing the Past

Although the worst human rights abuses ended over 20 years ago, the trauma and stress associated with these dislocating events continue to effect people’s lives. No intentional effort has yet been made to address the psychological stresses communities experienced during the violence.

Our work will begin to address some of long-term consequences of the violence in this community. Although the formal violence ended with the signing of Peace Accords in 1996, many of the fundamental inequalities that led to the violence persist: while the wealthiest 10% have access to nearly 50% of resources the poorest 10% access only 1.6% of resources.

Reason for Optimism

In Tanhoc we have much reason to be optimistic. Although materially poor, the community is blessed with many resources, including a wealth of cooperatives dedicated to the marketing of agricultural goods.

Francisco Cuz is clear and passionate as he outlines the struggles his community has faced over the past 20 years. “At first we wanted to work together, as a coop. Later, some decided to leave our coop. Now, we are sometimes forced to buy even corn.”

The agronomy student is the sort of young man of which any community would be proud. The first member of Tanhoc to attend university, Mr. Cuz has the determined eyes of someone looking firmly into the future. “I want to return to my community to share all that I have learned in my studies.”

Upcoming Goals for the Tanhoc Project

Read about the project goals.

Update on Current Educational Activities

Francisco Cuz provides an update on current educational activities in Tanhoc.

Ceremonies to Pay Down a Consessional Loan

The second annual ceremony and celebration was held in 2007, to pay down the loan. Read A Celebration in Tanhoc, by Amy Backes (RN, BScN), the representative for Pueblo Partisans in Guatemala.

The third annual ceremony and celebration was held on November 21, 2008. 

   Photos of the 2008 Tanhoc celebration
   Photos of the 2007 Tanhoc celebration
   Photos of the 2006 Tanhoc celebration

Scholarship Recipients in Tanhoc - 2009

Pueblo Partisans is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2009 Scholarship (Becarios) Program.