The rainforests of Central America are lush and complex. Across the isthmus, the strip of land that connects North and South America, these forests support a host of biomes and interconnected networks that are alive with possibility. Each component relies on the health of the ecosystem for its survival.

Guatemala has one of the most diverse rainforest systems in Central America. The country owes its name to a native Nahuatl word, cuauhtēmallān, which means “place of many trees.” Its landscape is beautiful and diverse, from tropical rainforests to mountainous forested highlands.

It’s not hard to embrace a vision where the vast forest system of interconnectivity and diversity can be protected and a source of strength and resilience for the people who call it home. The forest has traditionally supported a win-win environment for people and the planet — a symbiotic relationship that adapts to change, embraces nature’s rhythms, and perfectly suits its unique ecology and geography.

Over time, this finely tuned balance has gradually shifted, posing a growing threat to the lives and livelihoods of the Indigenous communities residing in the rainforest. Despite the forest’s capacity to ensure food security, an estimated 350,000 cardamom farming families in Guatemala continue to grapple with poverty, facing significant gaps in food consumption.

The department of Alta Verapaz sits high in the mountains of north central Guatemala. Here, the local language, Q’eqchi’, a Mayan dialect, is still used to transact, interact, and engage socially and culturally. The capital city of this department, Cobán, is surrounded by mountains that are home to the graceful yet hardy “La Monja Blanca” or “White Nun Orchid,” Guatemala’s national flower.

It is within this ecosystem that Heifer’s Green Business Belt (GBB) Signature Program supports thousands of farmers and producers as they build and develop spice-related products and eco-tourism services. The project works to improve forest management across 4,750 acres of biodiverse land, creating and strengthening green enterprises that improve farmers’ harvests and add value to their products to sell at higher prices.

I started working with Heifer “to be able to support my fellow women, to lose fear, working the land that our parents have left us.”— Florinda Araceli Tzib Maaz, farmer and Heifer promoter

A Case Study: Community, Commitment and Cacao

Cacao has been a traditional Mayan food for centuries. While good chocolate may be highly valued today, it has been speculated by anthropologists that fermented cacao beans were used as a form of currency by ancient Mayans before gold or other forms of currency were adopted. It is also believed the Maya were the first to cultivate cacao in the region and used it to prepare a ceremonial drink called chocolhaa.

Recently, there has been a surging enthusiasm for premium Guatemalan chocolate, as the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food of Guatemala has reported. This surge in interest has prompted heightened investments and advanced training within the cacao sector.

Consequently, the quality of Guatemalan chocolate has seen notable enhancements, propelling Guatemala into the position of the world’s third-largest cocoa producer. Nevertheless, there remains a need for further efforts to ensure broader availability and accessibility of Guatemalan chocolate.

The ADIRA Cooperative was formed in 2009 by a community spanning the municipalities of Raxruhá and Chisec, in northern Alta Verapaz, to be both an agricultural and a social association that aims to support its members on their journey as farmers and producers. Members of the cooperative are of Mayan Q’eqchi’ descent and have a deep respect for mother earth.

The founders of ADIRA have embraced principles of community development and agroforestry systems and opportunities to partner with organizations like Heifer International.

They’ve joined the GBB program and are now making strides to diversify their crops while building facilities to process cacao that had previously been shipped abroad for producing chocolates, desserts and sweet treats.

Marta Botzoc Teyul has been a member of ADIRA since its inception. Now, she’s one of its leaders. As president representing the group on legal matters, she learned that changing minds is the most complex work. Creating the paradigm for change has required educating every group member, so they understand how to create and execute a business plan and break with traditions when they don’t work anymore.

Marta has a vision for her community that starts with cacao but encompasses a range of other commodity crops. “Before Heifer’s intervention, we only worked with the cocoa chain,” she said. “Now we have improved the cocoa chain and we work also with other spice chains such as cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, black pepper and curcuma.”

It takes leadership with a deep understanding of culture and community to support progress. Marta admits that this work has meant adopting measures to strengthen farming and production processes and finding financial and operational support to industrialize, while training young people and women’s groups in entrepreneurship.

Heifer has a long history of working with communities to confront similar challenges. Through training tailored to the unique challenges that producers face, Heifer technicians promote agroforestry systems and good agricultural practices while addressing specific problems like crop management so that producers can improve their production in an environmentally friendly way.

Additionally, members of the cooperative are educated on Heifer’s values-based community development training that helps them strengthen and build social capital within, which further enables them to improve how they work together to run their businesses and collectively capitalize on their newly gained entrepreneurial skills.

Being a woman leader “has its complications, but it is possible to overcome and face the challenges. Now women have the right to participate.”— Marta Botzoc Teyul, ADIRA Cooperative leader

Thanks to the extension services and field training, members of ADIRA are maximizing what they plant and how they plant. This has required more work upfront but has resulted in greater yields at harvest time.

“Our members have implemented good agricultural practices and crop diversification,” said Marta, “and above all, we have already started with the commercialization of our products.”

Combined with traditional extension services, these efforts have enabled farmers to make informed decisions and plan for changing market conditions.

As a result, 62% of GBB project households were able to close the gap between their actual income and living income benchmarks — the amount of money every person in a household needs per day to live a dignified life — in 2022.

At the processing facility in Raxruhá, Alta Verapaz, Marta leads training sessions on cacao processing that give young women and members of the cooperative the know-how to make delicious chocolate, cacao nibs and other treats for local and international markets.

This group of young women will also learn business management and business planning so they can create jobs for others in their community and develop this sector. Heifer is broadening its impact by offering training to individuals like Marta, empowering them to become new teachers, or promoters, who can carry forward the organization’s commitment to the community.

Florinda Araceli Tzib Maaz, a promoter with the GBB program, moves between Raxruhá and Chisec teaching members in small groups so that even those with little formal education can use the information.

Florinda has come a long way since she started this work a year ago. Now, she’s no longer afraid of speaking in front of groups and works hard to support the women in her community, who often manage alone due to migration.

“Some of my fellow women have their husbands in the United States, and they are in charge of the household in Guatemala,” she said. “As long as we have the support, the advice of the technicians, we can get ahead bringing sustenance to our families.”

Now, ADIRA’s members are working on their next goal: to become certified producers of organic products so that they can demand a bigger income when they sell. Obtaining such certification will incentivize the cooperative to expand its operation to benefit its members and the environment in which they live and work.

Heifer promoter Florinda Araceli Tzib Maaz tends the land with women from the GBB program.

“As long as we have the support, the advice of the technicians, we can get ahead bringing sustenance to our families.”— Florinda Araceli Tzib Maaz, farmer and Heifer promoter

This story was submitted by Heifer International and edited for alignment with the Missing Middle campaign.