La Fraternidad

The first photo is of some of the women who work at La Fraternidad and the second is of the view out over Xela from their offices.

La Fraternidad is a group of women and one man who work with groups of ladies from the local Mayan and Mam groups - I will not go into too much detail as to how they work with, but they are basically in the business of educating and empowering women in communities where men typically run the show - many of these women deal with abuse in one form or another and many of these communities have strayed from their traditional medicines and farming practices. La Fraternidad works with groups, giving them small loans to start their own businesses - they also educate the women about traditional medicines and have an agronomist who visits them and teaches them important, natural ways farming. Women from the groups can also attend classes at La Fraternidad for specialized training.

Over our three days in Xela we visited with several of these groups, all at various stages in development and were able to see the vast changes that were being made in their lives.

One group was fairly new, and there was still a sense of caution and shyness about them, but they were determined, and had used their loan for potatoes, weaving, and a cow (which still had to grow a bit) and they were learning more about how and where to market and distribute their potatoes as well as how many to set aside for the different uses that they had for them - feeding livestock, sale at market, and seeding for their next crop. It was important that they learn to handle their new business well, since they would be presenting La Fraternidad with an detailed account of how they were using their loan to profit and grow, and therefor be eligible for another. With this the women also learned math and the skills necessary to continue running a successful business of their own - for the first time.

Another group had been around longer and was working at the time of our visit with the agronomist, learning how to make natural fertilizer for their crops so that they would no longer have to use chemicals that would harm the soil and the water - something we should all be doing.

On another day we visited a group that had been active for 5 years and had 37 chickens and were learning how to use a worm composter - it was very interesting to hear the questions they were asking, and it really highlighted the complexities of introducing modern techniques to traditional farming methods. With the chickens, for instance, they had initially wondered why they should keep them in a pen, and not let them roam free and feed themselves as they'd been doing for probably as long as any of them could remember. Keeping them in a pen meant that the women had to feed the chickens themselves, and they wondered at the diseases that they thought would take over if they kept them all together - so they had to have it explained that although yes, they would be responsible for feeding all the chickens themselves, the chickens would not get diseased as long as none of them were allowed to roam free and catch the diseases that they would normally pick up in the course of feeding themselves. Practical questions, in my opinion, from women that were being asked to look away from everything they had previously been taught.

Also were the stories of the women themselves - they told us about how they had been given independence by their new knowledge, about how they had new hope and were no longer completely dependent on their husbands - most of these women now had their own source of income for the first time in their lives. It was very touching to see the light in their eyes as they spoke. One woman told of how her mother was also involved in LA Fraternidad and no longer spoke of herself as useless - in this case her father was also involved, and so a whole families future was being changed. Another woman spoke of how, when her husband had been wrongfully imprisoned 11 years ago (in Guatemala you're guilty until you can afford to prove you're innocent) and she had been left, with her children, at the mercy of the other villagers - now thanks to La Fraternidad she was able to support her family. Each woman had a story, and each group was different in their way of working - but they were all determined, all excited to learn and make a change to their lives for the better.

I was truly amazed (once again) by the work being done here - and not by a huge corporation or major non-profit organization, but by a small group of dedicated people, from a simple little house-turned-office, where everyday they found new ways to change lives.