Posted by Maya Traditions on September 02, 2015
The current situation in Guatemala in terms of social and economic development – especially within indigenous communities–is often described as critical. In comparison to its Latin American counterparts, Guatemala has extremely high rates of maternal mortality, gender inequality, poverty, and childhood malnutrition. The Guardian recently reported that last year, 5,100 girls under 15 became pregnant in Guatemala. “Cultural practices, lack of education, endemic violence, and the hold of the Catholic church over decisions on reproductive health make girls in Guatemala easy prey for abuse and vulnerable to early pregnancy’’ (The Guardian 2015). During our recent clinics in different rural communities, we
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Our Community Health Program, first launched in 1997, works to preserve and promote traditional Maya medicine and knowledge and the use of medicinal plants to treat common illnesses in rural communities in Guatemala. This June, we were able to hold our second annual clinic in our artisan partner community of Quiejel, Chichicastenago, Quiché. A total of 73 patients attended the clinic, most of whom were women and children. Marisol Morales Calel, responsible for the Youth Education and the Community Health Programs with Maya Traditions Foundation, shares her experiences here: What is the goal of the day clinic? “We are working
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Maya Traditions partners with local university student to realize professional internships in their area of study. Here, one of our recent interns, Ana Buch Chavez, shares her experience woking with Maya Traditions, in the area of Community Health: Programs Coordinator Marisol with artisan Vicenta and her grandfather, and local intern Ana on the right My name is Ana Buch Chavez, and I am a student of Social Work. I thank Maya Traditions Foundation for giving me the space to realize my professional internship. As a student of Social Work, one of my responsibilities was the preparation of community
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Posted by Maya Traditions on December 10, 2014
2014 was an exciting year for us at Maya Traditions. We saw the true shift towards sustainability and becoming a social enterprise. We’ve worked greatly on rebranding the organization and have determined the need to reach higher market places to help us face the tremendous competition in the global marketplace. One of the most remarkable feats we saw this year was the official acceptance of Maya Traditions as a Fair Trade Organization by the World Fair Trade Organization. We have great hope that this will open many new doors as the strong relationships we have with our artisans are now verified by a world renowned organization.
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Posted by Maya Traditions on September 22, 2014
My name is Edgar Isais Tuy Vicente and I am responsible for the Organic Medicinal PlantGarden at Maya Traditions Foundation. Our Organic Medicinal Plant Garden is a beautiful, serene place where diverse ornamental and medicinal plants are grown. The purpose of the garden is to continue cultivating the knowledge and use of medicinal plants that our ancestors have left us with. We work to preserve such traditional knowledge, and promote it among the communities we work with and visitors who arrive to the garden. We also create a wide variety of products with the plants that we grow, including: Aloe
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