Guatemala
For the mostly poor, indigenous families of Guatemala's central highlands, access to land and opportunity is the first step out of poverty.
Guatemala is an overwhelmingly poor country: by some accounts, 80 percent of the population lives in poverty, and two-thirds of those live in extreme poverty. Mercy Corps is helping rural families lift themselves into better lives by easing their access to productive farmland — and the opportunities afforded landowners who grow and sell higher-value crops. We’re also helping entrepreneurs like this woman, who used microcredit loans from Mercy Corps to start three businesses: raising chickens, running a roadside kiosk and weaving traditional Mayan juipiles blouses.
Earning Money and Respect ›
Extending credit to women in rural Guatemala has turned them into more than simply entrepreneurs.
Video: Tilling the Soil ›
Training newly landed farmers and helping them sell to lucrative markets is the second step in Mercy Corps' approach to rural economic development.
Video: Owning the Land ›
Playing the role of neutral mediator helps farmers and finqueros resolve land conflicts peacefully, setting the stage for economic advancement.
Video: What Youth Can Do ›
Video: A Community Abuzz ›
Raising honeybees is all the buzz in this bucolic Guatemalan village, where a dozen women harvested $700 worth of honey in their first year.
Won in Translation ›
Topics: Citizen Involvement, Health, HIV/AIDS, Marginalized Groups
Mercy Corps successfully turned around Tucurú's hospital in the late 1990s. And Carmelina Botzoc is a big reason why.
Worth The Wait ›
Farmers in Alta Verapaz may have to wait 18 months before the first pineapple harvest, but they hope growing the sought-after fruits bring lasting change to their community.
It Begins With Land ›
Topics: Agriculture
For the mostly poor, indigenous families of Guatemala's central highlands, access to productive farmland is a first step out of poverty. Using that land to break into lucrative agricultural markets is a critical leap forward.
Special Report: Land and Opportunity ›
Topics: Rural, Peaceful Change, Economic Development, Agriculture
For the mostly poor, indigenous families of Guatemala's central highlands, access to productive farmland — and lucrative agricultural markets — is a first step out of poverty.
The Sound of Progress ›
Topics: Peaceful Change
The terrain where both Tierra Linda and Milagro are situated was once abandoned land. Today it's at the center of a dispute, meetings and ongoing negotiation.
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