Communities in transition : 1997 annual report

Project accomplishments increased in 1997 and provide a solid base for the project"s continued work in 1998 through a proposed project expansion. Efforts during 1997 were in four main areas. In the productive activities area, five village banks with women members/clients were started, providing credit access to these communities for the first time. The process of strengthening a local NGO, CESIDE, to provide the banks with TA is underway. The project carried out 25 participatory rapid rural assessments in all the Ixcan micro-regions and nearby communities of the Alta Verapaz with the local NGO, ADEL. However, the planning of a productive activities strategy with ADEL or another local NGO still needs to be implemented due to ADEL"s low organizational capacity and management changes. The project is working to support the Rigoberta Menchu Tum Foundation (RMTF) by strengthening its management systems through a sub-contract. The RMTF also received a grant from the project for income-generating activities. Activities in agroforestry and environmental education greatly expanded in 1997 with the management of the Institute for Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA) experimental farm, the implementation of 44 satellite crop demonstration plots, 16 tree nurseries, and the fielding of 9 agroforestry promoters. These efforts are beginning to show progress, with farmers changing from slash/burn agriculture to a sustainable system that increases the fertility of their fields. In environmental education, farmers, community leaders, and schools are being aggressively targeted with direct training and the preparation of teachers as trainers. The Guatemala Ministry of Education is formally recognizing teachers who have completed environmental education training. In infrastructure rehabilitation, the project has worked with communities in a participative way to prepare and approve 45 projects financed by the communities and through USAID"s Special Development Fund. In addition to the physical infrastructure, communities are gaining experience in project design and management that can be applied to other community needs. The infrastructure rehabilitation projects include women"s centers, training centers, pedestrian bridges, vehicle bridges, schools, health posts, community latrine projects, potable water systems, road drainage works, repair of landing strips, and community buildings. Another benefit of the program is that conflictive groups within a community or from different communities (as in the case of a bridge) work together towards a common goal in this hands-on approach to conflict resolution. Of the 45 projects, 2 have been completed, with another 9 under construction. The remaining projects are waiting for counterpart funding to be identified or approved. The community association/road maintenance component has brought the different communities of the Ixcan together in the formation of the Ixcan Road Maintenance Association (AMVI), which provides the organizational base for a region-wide road maintenance effort and includes leaders from the entire area. The process of forming the Association included visits to a similar successful project in Costa Rica and visits by leaders of the Costa Rican road maintenance association to the Ixcan. AMVI is ready in 1998 to began ordering road equipment in order to fulfill its mandate. In 1997, this component began the process of ordering and installing prefabricated steel bridges important not only to the Ixcan road system, but also to the Guatemalan Peace Accords. The project has undertaken efforts to assure that road maintenance activities will not adversely affect the Ixcan environment. (Author abstract, modified)