Guatemala: Indigenous Women's Agro-Ecology Is Healing Guatemala's Landscape

Jan 29, 2020 | Andrew J. Wight, Sojourners
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RABINAL, BAJA VERAPAZ, GUATEMALA – The massive, white Catholic Cathedral of Rabinal, commissioned by Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas, who arrived in Guatemala's central highlands in 1537, still towers over the town in Guatemala's Baja Verapaz department. Las Casas was there to spread the word of God without the violent tactics employed elsewhere in the Spanish Conquista.

Nearly five centuries later, Indigenous faith communities are building their own peace in this same area, as a group of Indigenous women attempt to shape a healthier future through eco-friendly agriculture, while helping heal the wounds of Guatemala’s 1980s genocide. Their approach could serve as a model for the region.