Guatemala

Country Context

Guatemala’s mountainous landscape is one of the most biodiverse rainforest systems in Central America, and the country owes its name to a native Nahuatl word, cuauhtēmallān, which means “place of many trees.” Despite its rich biodiversity, many Guatemalans are food insecure. Although roughly one-third of Guatemalans are employed in agriculture, the country does not yet produce enough food to meet demand. More than 55 percent of the population lives in poverty and has limited access to food, health care, education and economic opportunities, with rural and Indigenous people particularly vulnerable.

Guatemala is regularly affected by climate shocks and extreme weather events, and its vulnerable population groups are most at risk of losing their livelihoods during such events. Smallholder agricultural producers are also impacted by droughts and changing weather patterns. In recent years, farmers desperate to make more land available for farming have engaged in logging and slash-and-burn practices that have a devastating effect on forest ecosystems.

Our Response

Heifer’s programs in Guatemala work with Indigenous communities and stakeholders — including local governments, community organizations and private companies — to support producers and producer organizations to increase their productivity and incomes and become more resilient to climate and economic shocks.  

This work prioritizes technical assistance and practical agroecological farming practices that promote natural resource management, adding value to locally produced crops or products and adapting to a changing climate. Heifer supports farmers in Guatemala to process their spices, coffee, cacao and honey so they retain more of the value of their labor and earn a better income.

Our primary objective is helping families achieve a sustainable living income, our measure for the amount of money required for a decent life — including safe shelter, nutritious food, clothing, education and health care — while also reaching additional benchmarks for economic and climate resilience.

The Guatemala Signature Program

Heifer International’s work is organized at the country level into Signature Programs focused on large-scale, measurable and sustainable impact achieved by building partnerships at all levels. Each program supports farmers through time-bound projects designed to increase their household income.

Green Business Belt

Heifer’s Signature Program in Guatemala, Green Business Belt, works closely with farmers and rural entrepreneurs to identify the best opportunities to increase incomes and provides a range of technical assistance and business management training in collaboration with cooperatives, local governments, universities and research centers and other local, national and international actors. The program encourages environmental stewardship and economic prosperity to demonstrate a path toward a future in which communities thrive and aspire to a productive future on their ancestral lands.