Our Partnership with Wellkind Guatemala

Tzununá, a village along the shore of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, is populated almost entirely by Kaq’chikel Maya. An estimated 70% of people living around Lake Atitlán live in poverty, and 32% in absolute poverty. As many as 66% of children under the age of five are stunted due to poor nutrition. Environmental degradation amplifies these economic and social challenges. Lake Atitlán is Central America’s largest drinking water source. However, only about 20% of sewage produced by the surrounding community is treated. Untreated wastewater ends up in rivers, the lake itself, or on open grounds. The lake has also been negatively impacted by habitat degradation, loss of forest cover, cyanobacteria blooms, and vulnerability to hurricanes and other extreme weather events.

One Day’s Wages partnered with Wellkind Guatemala to support food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability in Tzununá. In collaboration with local leaders and community members, they work at the intersection of these issues by planting food forests and organic home gardens. These initiatives block the flow of pollutants into Lake Atitlán, help families boost their consumption of healthy greens, and offer planters excess to fruits and vegetables that they can sell at the local market. In addition, Wellkind manages a weaving co-operative for indigenous women artisans. The women earn fair trade wages for their work, making enough to cover food and clothes for their families and to send their children to school.