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 Sunday, 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)