Let’s plant fruit trees now!
PLANT FRUIT TREES: WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
In recent years the coffee crisis caused by the roya disease has jeopardized the livelihoods of the men and women who depend on coffee for income generation. In addition, unlike “sun” coffee grown throughout the world, a sizable percentage of Guatemalan coffee needs shade to grow properly.
By planting fruit trees in coffee fields alongside small-holder farmers, you will do more than just provide shade for coffee trees. You will contribute to the preservation of the local ecosystem while enabling local men and women to produce food for their families and improve their livelihoods through the sale of papaya, avocado, passion fruit and lemon in the local market.
We have partaken in several trips to empower families so they can produce fruit in their coffee fields, generate income by selling the fruit in the local market and conserve the local ecosystem.
10 THINGS OUR STUDENTS AND VOLUNTEERS HAVE LEARNED AND DISCOVERED
- What the Guatemalan civil war was like, as told by someone who lived through it.
- What Mayan cosmology is all about.
- What your personal nawal is, and what it means.
- The who, when, why, what and where of Guatemala’s coffee crisis.
- How to address the coffee crisis through permaculture.
- What traditional Guatemalan food tastes like.
- How foreign aid can sometimes have disastrous effects.
- How sustainable reforestation can create healthy eco-systems.
- How permaculture principles can help with soil conservation, land and water management.
- How a local community can grow their own food and reach food sovereignty.