After a long effort to organize and access support,  the Association of Xinca Agroecological Promoters of Jalapa (ASOPROAJ) attained legal status in 2022. ASOPROAJ is an association of more than 90 members from Indigenous Xinca communities in Guatemala, working to practice agroecology, develop sustainable livelihoods, and protect their territories. 

We’ve been partnering with FUNDEBASE, a community-based organization in Guatemala, to support grassroots associations like ASOPROAJ. Members have been active in resisting mining in their territories while also facing continued economic, social, and environmental challenges. Part of FUNDEBASE’s efforts have focused on expanding capacity and economic opportunity for agroecological producers of ASOPROAJ through training, technical assistance, and other support.

In late 2024, we had the opportunity to visit members of ASOPROAJ and learn more about their efforts, their ethics, and the impacts of TWP’s and FUNDEBASE’s collaboration:

San Carlos Honey: With support from FUNDEBASE’s technical team, a family-based network of Xinca beekeepers has developed a brand, expanded agroecological production methods, and gained access to local and international markets.

“Now we are Honey San Carlos, we made our own brand…we're already shipping to Canada, the United States, and Spain. I'm not one of the big producers, I'm small, but with the help of FUNDEBASE my brand is already pushing forward. And we’ve done this while reducing chemicals, not spraying with herbicides, producing in association with natural things.” 

Doña Odi Jellies: With training and support in purchasing supplies, an ASOPROAJ member has used her local fruit trees and garden to develop a small business. 

“There are about 12 varieties of jellies that I make and I work with almost exclusively natural fruit from my garden….everything I do is with organic fertilizer. I have sold my product in many places, from the United States, to Guatemala, to my own community here.” 

Local produce: Members have expanded agroecological production of fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants and applied value-added strategies (such as sugar-coated figs, pictured) to gain higher value at markets. 

“Before, my land was empty. But since then I have learned how to fight for life, how to fight for the environment, how to fight for a future, which is the children… I now have six kinds of fruit trees, I grow many kinds of vegetables, and I do all of this organically ....FUNDEBASE has helped me a lot to get ahead. I have learned to value myself, for myself.” 

Xinca Coffee: Local coffee producers have expanded production, accessed new markets, and made their processing methods more sustainable while using profits to support mining resistance efforts in their communities. 

“We now have a machine to wash coffee that I call the miracle machine because it uses very little water. And we also use the coffee pulp for vermiculture and take the washing water that comes out back to the coffee plantation as fertilizer. So our washing water is not going into the ditch or the river – we are giving back to the coffee what it gave us…and the profits from coffee, we have used for all these struggles in the defense of the territory.” 

For the communities with whom we work, dignified livelihoods mean much more than economics. From protecting their territories, to conserving resources, to revitalizing ancestral knowledge and culture – building sustainable, locally-based livelihoods is a connection to a past and a foundation of a future. 

“For us, agroecology does not only mean coming to present a product and sell it. It means that we are in defense of our territory.” - ASOPROAJ Member