Ak'Tenamit Community

Ak'Tenamit is an indigenous community development organization that promotes long-term solutions to poverty through education, health, income generation and cultural programs run by and for the Q’eqchi.  The Ak'Tenamit community consists of two sites, one of which welcomes tour groups and individual travelers.  It has a walking trail, an arts and crafts store, and a restaurant. 

Ak'Tenamit welcomes visitors for day tours only as they currently do not have facilities to accommodate overnight guests.  Unless you are visiting the community on a previously organized tour you must arrange your visit well in advance.  The community has a school, clinic, and many other important activities that your visit could interrupt.  The restaurant staff will also need to be advised you are coming in order to purchase sufficient food. 

Sustainability:

Ak’ Tenamit belongs to the villagers it serves, who must donate four days of labor per family per year, mostly for construction brigades, maintenance, and kitchen help. Villages that fulfill this requirement can elect one man and one woman to represent them at annual General Assemblies, when they elect Ak’ Tenamit’s Board of Directors from a list of village representatives, staff, and students – the statutes require that the board be 100% indigenous, half male and half female. The Board hires and oversees an operations (site) manager, an administrative (financial) manager, and various program managers, who are assisted by international volunteers.

In conjunction with the Guatemala’s parks department – CONAP – Ak’ Tenamit has run campaigns to discourage hunting and deforestation in the area. The project’s education program has also produced a “Teacher's Guide for Environmental Education” that was approved by Guatemala's Ministry of Education and is being used in our region’s schools. All students learn about the importance of the environment and the need to use natural resources wisely, and they share that information with their parents and neighbors. Just as important is the fact that the project’s income generation program has helped groups of men and women to set up artisan cooperatives that make handicrafts from corn husks, palm seeds and other renewable materials, and has helped one community open a small ecolodge, all of which provides sustainable economic alternatives to cutting the forest and hunting.

Ak’ Tenamit has helped two villages start a community lodge, which travelers visit as part of a hiking tour led by local guides. The lodge and guiding fees provide needed income for those villages and motivate people to protect the forests and wildlife that are part of the attraction for visitors. Ak’ Tenamit’s sustainable tourism program is preparing Q’eqchi students to launch similar businesses in their communities, which will increase family incomes while decreasing dependency on slash and burn agriculture, hunting and logging.

Contact:

Barra Lampara, Río Dulce, Izabal, Guatemala
Tel/fax: 502-5908-3392, 502-5908-4358, or 502-5303-9428
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.aktenamit.org