Guatemala: Sololá Agro-Industry Initiative

Indigenous communities throughout Central America have historically been victims of an institutionally structured process of marginalization. Over countless years, these communities have seen social and political rights withheld and were often targets of human rights abuses during the 1980s. To address the many challenges of Sololá’s indigenous farmers, GFI launched a community-based initiative designed to empower farming communities through improved agricultural production, market access and finance opportunities to help expand economic opportunity. The Sololá Agro-Industry Initiative (SAII) was designed to strengthen economic opportunity for indigenous agricultural producers and break down existing barriers faced by small-holder organic farmers by creating links to higher value, more sustainable markets. Additionally, the SAII program used a robust multi-stakeholder engagement process to ensure that the voice and participation of the indigenous Mayan communities of Sololá were included in larger economic decision making within Guatemala’s agricultural development agenda.

SAII worked with both smallholder farming communities and large buyers. Training and capacity building focused on improving farming inputs and promoting skills and practices that address productivity, quality, and value. While all training modules were developed in partnership with the community, trainings were also designed around environmental and economic best practices and decent work standards in the agricultural sector. SAII connected farming communities with larger buyers and secured transfer of knowledge through successful business contracts.