Partners In Change
In rural Guatemala, agriculture is the backbone of people’s livelihoods, and the ecosystems that support productive farming are thus the foundation of human sustenance.
In light of Guatemala’s escalating situation regarding the declining productivity of its croplands and the destruction of its agroecosystems, we have chosen to focus our work on sustainable agriculture paired with environmental stewardship. These two issues are the key to enabling an upward spiral of self-guided development and a stable rural economy in Guatemala. That said, assisting communities on as many levels as possible will always reinforce the benefits garnered by each component of the development equation. As such, when the opportunity presents itself, we form partnerships with like-minded development organizations in order to combine forces and offer communities an integrated and holistic development program. When evaluating potential partners, we place a particular emphasis on what we call “Enabling Infrastructure and Other Foundations for Change.” We look to identify and partner with organizations that focus on the following tasks:
- Address core community infrastructural gaps i.e. roads, wells, electricity connection
- Assist with entrepreneurial development and economic opportunity
- Facilitate formation of equitable, inclusive, and democratic community governance
- Provide consultation on navigating political and other institutional bureaucratic systems
With the growth of our organization, we will correspondingly expand the scope of our development programs. Building partnerships is one avenue that allows us to achieve a holistic capacity. One such partnership is with Alianza Mundial. Their mission is to
provide the resources necessary so that the most disadvantaged populations can strengthen their capacities and create opportunities to improve living conditions. Alianza Mundial has established operations in 93 communities in Guatemala and Semilla Nueva will work in partnership with three of those communities in 2010. This partnership exemplifies the importance of organizational collaboration.
