World Community

Regenerative Coffee Farming and Mayan Resilience in Guatemala

Mayan farmers are at the forefront of the struggle for environmental justice in
Guatemala. Meet Neydi Juracan, National Coordinator of Campesino Committee of the
Highlands (CCDA), and hear about the CCDA’s work to protect the land using fair trade
coffee as a tool for social justice including land reform and food sovereignty.

Join World Community to welcome Neydi on Saturday, May 11 th at 7 pm in the Common House at Creekside Commons Co-housing (2202 Lambert Drive, Courtenay).

The CCDA was founded in 1982, during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, to defend the
rights of workers on large coffee, sugar and cotton plantations, to recover lands taken
from the Mayan communities over the past centuries, and to promote and recover
Mayan culture and spirituality.

It wasn’t until after the armed conflict ended in 1996 that the CCDA was able to work
more freely on the issues of land reform and livelihoods. The CCDA used the Peace
Accords to obtain land for member communities in the Lake Atitlán region.

“In 1996, World Community Development Education Society brought the first fairly
traded coffee to the Comox Valley” notes Janet Fairbanks. “At that time, the coffee
available to us was from Nicaragua and we have maintained our relationship with the
farmers there but we have also been keenly interested in political situations affecting
campesinos in Guatemala and other countries in Central America. Many of our
members have been to the highlands of Guatemala and supported the work of the
CCDA and other organizations there.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet a dynamic young Indigenous leader and hear about the current situation in Guatemala. Everyone is welcome to attend.
FMI: Janet (250 334-1840)