I had the privilege to be part of a
trip along with the Presidential Commission for local
Development "PCLD" (I worked there in 2004)
to visit the community of beautiful Totonicapan in the
northeast region of Guatemala. These trips are always
a great adventure; you need to get up at 4 o’clock in the
morning, as the convoy of people will leave the main office at
5:30am. I was invited by my good friend David Martinez,
consultant member of the PCLD.
After leaving the office at 5:25am
we headed to one of the main hotels in the city and, as
always, I was sipping a cup of coffee along the way. We were
taking about the agenda of the day with my friend (these trips
are always full of activities) as each minute is important. We
got to the hotel and started looking for David’s guest and
finally found him. I got to meet Mr. Miles Sakal, an
important executive from MANE FRANCE (one of the most
important worldwide companies in the fragrance market). After
picking him up, we were ready to start our adventure as we
were going to drive for 3 hours throughout the most beautiful
regions all the way to the community.
David started explaining to
Mr. Sakal that the main role of the Presidential Commission for
local development, a new & effective branch of the local &
actual government (2004-2007), was to help the communities in
any way (mainly by doing any kind of sustained and productive
contacts) so they can become a developed region. The
Commissioner Mr. Rodolfo Paiz (Fito Paiz as everyone
knows him) believes that each community has a productive
potential, and as a government they need to help and empower
their efforts, this was no exception.
Many of these communities were really affected after the 30
year civil war that took place in those highland regions, they
need to change their lives and start having new hopes.
Half way through the trip we stopped to have a typical
Guatemalan breakfast and talked about many topics referring
the visit -- mainly about the community efforts and market
potentials. I was anxious to get there as the last time I
visited TOTO (short version) was more than a year
before and I was excited to see their latest accomplishments.
Finally after 2 hours we arrive in
this beautiful forest region; full of
breathtaking landscapes
and colors. It was once again an amazing experience.
According to the Kiche Mayan culture it is a sacred place for
all the communities of this region. According to their beliefs
it is a gift from their ancestors and they have the
responsibility to take care of every acre of this land for
future generations. We were received by the manager project;
Lesbia Talo, dressed in a beautiful typical dress (each color
of her dress has a meaning related with nature). She
represents MABELI Corp., I could tell she was really
excited to start her day and share everything about their
project.
With a nice smile on her face she started sharing with all
of us. Their main effort is to eradicate the poverty levels of
the community by switching to a more productive agricultural
activity. Historically, the Mayan culture had been cultivating
corn but they need a more productive activity and they found
it. After several years of planning & organizing, they are
planting and cultivating medicinal plants, such as Chamomile
and others. By doing this they have increased their profits
500% in comparison with corn.
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