Highland support project
Annual Report 2014
... A Different Approach
contents 3 Message from Coo 5 message from CEO 6 HSP theory of change 7 why Guatemala? 8 why the highlands? 9 womens circles 10 our projects: stoves 11 pixan 13 meet a maker 14 Map 15 sustainable agriculture 16 the meaning of agency 18\ highland partners
19 20 21 22 24 25
meet our creatives an evolving partnership arizona first nation cooperative impacts financial snapshot thank you
Message From Chief Operations Officer
guadaLupe RamĂrez
"I owe my life to an idea.
The simple idea that it is possible to make the world a better place when you join forces with others." I am the product of a successful model of community development that not only transformed my parents’ community half a century ago, it empowered me to be an effective agent of change. My father became a key figure in the cooperative movement and I learned the power of collective action by his side. In particular, I learned that it is very difficult to make a significant impact as one person, but through the web of relationships we call social capital people can realize a great deal. My family lives in the Mam-speaking community of Tejutla, San Marcos, in G u a t e m a l a’s w e s t e r n h i g h l a n d s . A s d e s c e n d a n t s o f c o f fe e plantation slaves, we have experienced extreme poverty and its immense challenges firsthand. My grandparents, who were illiterate peasants, struggled to eek out a living and keep their children well. Consequently, all of their children died from easily preventable illnesses, with the exception of my mother. In the 1960s, missionaries descended on Latin America with their various strategies for liberating the poor but we were most fortunate that Belgian nuns arrived in my village with a very practical and empowering philosophy: The sisters focused on building resilience and skills, rather than distributing aid in the missionary tradition. Initially they focused on providing administrative and accounting training; later they supported Tejutla to establish an agricultural co-operative and taught our community that by shipping their wheat to distant markets we could yield much greater profits. All this equipped us to get stronger and ultimately solve our own problems.
"These are just a few examples of the model of development that tRansformed our community and which, today, inspires our organizations, Highland Support Project (HSP) and Asociacion de Mujeres del Altiplano (AMA)."
“ in 2014, 1159 Maya
lives were directly improved and 2070 indirectly impacted by HSP and its partner projects “
Message From Chief Executive Officer
ben blevins
Dear Friends and Partners, Last year was like no other in Highland Support Project’s two-decade h i s to r y. T h a n k s to yo u r s u p p o r t f o r o u r i n n ova t i ve m o d e l o f s o c i a l change, more highland lives than ever before were positively impacted. All of our projects are born from community-identified needs, and continue to be led by local community members. They could not, however, have been enacted without twenty years of grassroots - infrastructure, capacity, curriculum development and confidence building - work in these communities by our organizational partner, Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano (AMA). I am thrilled to share some of our model’s impressive 2014 results and advances toward the end of this report. Our pioneering work in the areas of Two of the year's highlights, in particular, exemplify this recognition: The Inter social enterprise, behavioral health American Foundation facilitated a visit education, clean cookstove instalfrom Costa Rican artisan weavers, who lation, capacity building and service will replicate our Pixan model, and; HSP learning has not gone unnoticed by and AMA founder, Guadalupe Ramirez, was discerning development operators. invited to present our work to the United States’Congress.
We believe what sets HSP and AMA work apart is a stubborn and consistent adherence to the following principles: Lasting change can only be generated from within and the role of the outsider is to support, rather than compete or co-opt, existing resources. And the best way to improve conditions in marginalized communities is to strengthen their ability to access and optimize opportunity. Looking forward, our priorities include expanding and fortifying the Pixan project, and; securing funding for the implementation of cooperative, sustainable agriculture projects in Guatemala’s western highlands and an Arizona Apache reservation. There will also be a major project focused on the creation of a direct aid, collaborative platform to promote cross-border partnerships. Time and again, cooperative and direct aid models, in contrast to dependency-creating charity models, have proven effective tools in the fight against poverty in native communities. So we have high hopes for the latter project and for our continuing cooperative-based initiatives. We feel honored to have inspired other organizations and individuals from around the world to either support or emulate us. We are also perpetually humbled by the vision and efforts of the highland communities that we serve.
Sincerely,
Ben Blevins
Stoves
Education Highland Support Project’s
Self-Esteem
‘Theory of Change’
improve women’s behavorial health
...a model for achieving long-term impact.
Income ventures
Projects
women gain free time outside the home
increase women’s economic participation
women become part of a safe, supportive network health, cultural, and vocational training
increase women’s capacity and agency
women participate more in civil society
Increased civic and economic empowerment in western highland communities
54%
40% of the country lacks access to clean water and adequate sanitation systems.
75%
25%
Up to the age of 16 only 54% of indigenous girls are in school, compared with 71% of indigenous boys. After 16, only 25% of indigenous girls are enrolled, compared with 45% of boys.
$2/day
Over 40% of Guatemala’s total population is indigenous, 75% of this indigenous population lives below the poverty line ($2/day).
5X Diabetes rates in rural communities around the world have gone up five-fold in the past 25 years.
why the highlands? The word ‘highlands’ is more than a topographical description. In the Americas, it has great cultural significance as the location for both ongoing Indigenous resistance, and the largest concentrations of First Nations Peoples in the western hemisphere. Socio-economically, highland communities generally rank lowest in quality of life indexes, life expectancy and access to basic services. They also tend to have the highest rates of political violence. Colonial histories have led to entrenched patterns of poverty and dependency in highland communities of the Americas. We work with communities to break these vicious cycles, and achieve agency, independence and prosperity – however they are defined by each community.
“ The rugged terrain and lack of roads
have kept rural communities remote from the rest of the country, and centuries of isolation and neglect have resulted in chronic poverty “ www.ruralpovertyportal.org
Women’s Circles Support and Growth Our development process begins with women’s circles in western highland communities. We empower...
We listen...
are grassroots
AMA women’s circles:
identify urgent and long-term community needs
enable local education, health, civic and entrepreneurial training
are inspired by United Methodist Women groups
mobilize community resources to realize HSP/ AMA projects.
are comprised of indigenous mothers, daughters, and granddaughters
identify future leaders and create a training forum
the stove project
The HSP-AMA Stove Program is an essential component of our Health Program. We started providing stoves in the early 1990s and, since that time, have facilitated the installation of around 10,000 improved, indoor cookstoves in the western highlands.
Our culturally-appropriate cookstoves are designed with the family tradition of socializing around the cooking source in mind. They are made from familiar and economic materials, with the crucial addition of a chimney to evacuate smoke from the home. Improved cookstoves have dramatically improved the health and wellbeing of over 10,000 Mayan family homes, which often house more than one generation. This is due to a reduction in indoor smoke, and injury due to burns and bending. An additional benefit is that improved cookstoves free up women’s time to participate in other economic and recreational activities.
projects
Each family helps construct and contributes a subsidized amount towards the costs of their cookstove, with with the remainder covered by ser vice trip contributions.
Pixan Design House is a fair trade textile workshop in G u a t e m a l a’s w e s t e r n h i g h l a n d s , a n a s s o c i a t i o n o f indigenous artisan weavers, expert in the ancient techniques of back-strap and pedal loom weaving and embroidery. While the Pixan project has been running since 2011, the seed that it grew from was planted in the mid-1990s when many of the fathers and husbands of highland women were tragically murdered in Guatemala’s 36-year civil war. These women had traditionally been reliant on the earning power of their men, and so, were forced to find new sources of family income with very limited access to opportunity and resources.
Ramirez bought high-quality thread for the highland women and set up a network of community womens’ circles. She then
This was the beginning of an AMA initiative to enable professional textile production and sales through North American church es and the nearby Chichicastenango market. Two decades after buying thread for highland weavers, Ramirez and AMA staff met with representatives of the, now strong, highland women’s circles. Their goal was to map a joint proposal for the Pixan workshop and project. The group agreed that Pixan would be a cooperative vehicle for accessing broader markets and operate according to ‘fair trade’ principles, in the most authentic and traditional sense of the term.
projects
Recognizing these immense challenges and the fact that most highland women begin complex weaving at a young age, Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano (AMA) founder, Guadalupe Ramirez, took action in the 1990s to enable professional textile production in the some of the most vulnerable communities.
developed a transformational training methodology that focused on self-esteem, education, civic participation and free enterprise development.
“ My entire life had been
a struggle. Now this organization, Pixan, is taking my hands and showing me how to use them for a future of success.“
Today, true to its founding values, the Pixan model champions fair pay and work conditions, high quality artisanal work and direct trade relationships. The latter removes the need for middlemen and their fees and allows professional direct trade relationships to flourish between talented highland artisans, and individuals and businesses from around the world.
“The
women were very excited about the thought of being businesswomen, and the possibility of selling things as far away as Europe “ Juanita Hernandez, Pixan's Project Coordinator
In 2010, Pixan’s growing impact was recognized with a three-year grant from the Inter American Foundation (IAF). This funding has enabled us to develop the technical and marketing abilities of the workshop artisans and for Pixan to become a sustainable program. New skills have allowed participating women to improve their products and create direct trade marketing strategies for their product lines, which include a beautiful range of naturally dyed scarfs.
Pixan employs 150 women ar tisans from 9 highland communities in Solola and Quetzaltenango and partners with businesses in London, Copenhagen, New York and other parts of the world.
projects
One participant noted,
meet a maker Esperanza of Espumpuja
According to Dona Esperanza, the most useful aspects of her participation have been the self-esteem and empowerment workshops and the new skills she has learned from the women’s circle workshops, which have brought new income opportunities for Esperanza and her family. Dona Esperanza is an active participant in both the Sustainable Agriculture Program, and the Pixan project, which she participated in for five years.Her daughter, Ana, participates in the Espumpuja women’s circle and the Sustainable Agriculture Program.
Meet Doña Esperanza Romero Méndez “ When
I first started coming to (womens circle) meetings, I didn't tell my husband because I knew he would not want me to go,”But once I started bringing home money from the entrepreneurship programs, he began to see the benefits and, now, he supports me and encourages me to participate
D o n a E s p e r a n z a R o m e r o M é n d e z ’s r e l a t i o n s h i p with AM A has spanned around 15 years and she believes many benefits have come from this participation and the women’s circle network it established.
“
projects
By working as a Pixan artisan and participating in the Sustainable Agriculture project, Esperanza is growing income streams and advancing her personal resilience and that of her family and community.
MAP
Maya Arts Program
Our Maya Arts Program is improving curriculum in Maya schools through the delivery of ambulatory art lessons in village classrooms.
Recently the MAP program was expanded to include training days for highland teachers, teaching them how to use art education techniques in broader curriculum learning. MAP’s ultimate goal is to empower youth to become change makers in the world by enhancing curriculum, improving educational infrastructure, training teachers and exposing students and teachers to reach cross-cultural exchanges, all in conjunction with the Guatemalan Government’s Education Ministry.
projects
By focusing on traditional Maya themes and philosophies, MAP builds cultural knowledge and pride. By exposing children to new arts-based learning activities, the program is also fostering critical and creative thinking skills that are often neglected in the standard Guatemala curriculum.
Sustainable Agriculture project A Team Member’s Perspective Natalie Prunty joined the Highland Partners team in mid 2014 after completing a degree in Political Science at the University of Washington, Seattle. In addition to being a bilingual guide for volunteer service trips, Natalie has focused on fundraising and community liaison for HSP’s Sustainable Agriculture project.
“I have seen our program improve soil quality, especially with the Soil Secrets products. Plantings have been diversified, and it has been great to see the women’s confidence grow as they embrace the trainings. Some are already making money from what they have learned. Water and finding funds are two key challenges, as water sources are very unreliable in rural areas in Guatemala,” said Natalie.
"I feel very lucky
projects
To date, the project has delivered training and seen the construction of greenhouses and water harvesters in four communities, Espumpuja, Llanos del Pinal, Bella Vista, and Chuicavioc.
Natalie was instrumental in setting up an online fundraising campaign for the to be the bridge of communication project, with the goal of growing both infrastructure, such as greenhouses between our and water catchments, and the clean volunteers and agriculture training program for western the women in the highland women. The project supports communities we these women to protect environmental serve, It's a resources, preserve culture and resist the beautiful pressures of biotech multi-nationals (through seed-saving), while enhancing interaction to be a part of." economic opportunities and nutrition standards.
the meaning o f ag e n c y María Felipa’s Stor y
agriculture, entrepreneurship, food production and behavioral health. Through her involvement in these training activities, María Felipa has learned to harvest a variety of organic vegetables, make AMA’s famous peanut butters, hot sauce and marmalades and generally learn about healthy food preparation. Based on AMA’s methodology, she has also completed three of four levels of empowerment through active participation in her women’s circle, attendance at business and other trainings and subsequent qualification for a subsidized, improved cookstove. Maria Felipa is now leader of the Chuicavioc women’s circle, following in the footsteps of her mother, Doña Maximiliana, who leads the Llanos del Pinal women’s circle.
Recently, María Felipa's efforts and the support she has received from HSP culminated in the official launch of her own organic produce business Flor de María.
,
/ˈājənsē/ noun
M aría Felipa is an indigenous woman from Llanos del
Pinal, who has been involved in AMA-HSP programs and women’s circle activities for five years. In 2014, Highland Support Project supported Maria Felipa through a broad suite of skills training, related to self-confidence and practical skills in the areas of
The ability to understand, adapt and act in the world. Agency is formed by capacity, belief and circumstances.
projects
Agency
projects
Maria Felipa's success is a wonderful demonstration of the HSP-AMA methodology and her own determination at work.
Maria Felipa’s new business unifies a number of diverse HSP and AMA programs.The sustainable agriculture project teaches women how to grow sustainably; the entrepeneurship training imparts small business skills; the Q’anil project, teaches women about healthy food and preparing preserves and salsa products.
Maria Felipa’s business received star t-up financial support from Fundap and is now registered with the National Department of Marketing and Commercialization. In addition to her entrepeneurial success, Maria Felipa married last year and now has a gorgeous, little boy. Her latest chapter is particularly poignant in light of her situation in her early twenties. At that time, Maria Felipa did not believe there was any way for her to build a good life for herself in Guatemala and attempted the dangerous journey to the United States as an illegal immigrant on a number of occasions. Maria Felipa has since embraced her new skills and the adventure they have made possible. An adventure, she could not have believed possible just two years ago.
highland partners A New Model of Collaboration Highland Partners is a joint initiative of the Highland Support Project (HSP) and Asociación de Mujeres del Altiplano (AMA). This locally-run, collaborative platform is all about facilitating partnerships to support Maya communities to develop their own voices, agency and leadership.
All Highland Partners’ activities – including project management, personnel selection, needs assessments and organizational planning – are determined and directed by local people.
PARTNERS
Highland Partner’s programs create rich, intercultural experiences for its partners – be they service trip volunteers, interns or other valued contributors - while championing empowerment and resilience in indigenous communities.
meet our creatives
Ligia GoméZ
Juliana Hinton
Marketing director
digital media producer
Ligia has a secretarial background and has just completed a Marketing Degree from Rafael Landívar University. She speaks, reads and writes English fluently, a skill that she believes has improved while working with HSP and AMA. Ligia started work as AMA’s Web Administrator but was promoted due to the development of her skills, dedication and strong work ethic.
"I have always wanted to work in an
organization like AMA. It is a once in a life time opportunity
"”
Juliana joined the Highland Partners team December 2014 after completing a BA in International Social Justice and Spanish at Virginia Commonwealth University. She practiced film and digital photography for 8 years and in the past 2 years began working with video editing and graphic design. Juliana volunteered with HSP for 3 years and now produces various digital media for HSP and AMAs marketing and fundraising. vimeo: vimeo.com/highlandpartners tumblr: julianahinton.tumblr.com
PARTNERS
an evolving partnership Our relationship with Deloitte began when Russ Gong - a loyal Highland Support Project supporter - commenced work with the globally respected consulting firm a few years ago. Before long Russ was actively extending his personal relationship with HSP into his professional life. While in college, Russ had participated in a transformative Partners in Service volunteer trip in Guatemala and he was keen for others to have the same opportunity. In 2013, Russ was instrumental in the creation of D2i, a program that aims to change the corporate culture through community service and the provision of pro bono consulting services to not-for-profits. D2i’s inaugural project involved Highland Support Project and saw 36 Deloitte staff members participate in a service trip, just as Russ had in college. Each year, a group of Deloitte specialists is selected to focus on a capstone project and HSP is most fortunate to have benefitted from the program’s ongoing support and specialist advice.
a First Nation
Cooperative
in Arizona The Chaabito Organic Produce Cooperative
In 2014, HSP partnered with Apache Behavourial Health Services to investigate ways to increase the social capital of this community, which is located on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. After extensive inter views and community engagement, HSP agreed to support the establishment of a community garden, then a cooperative, to encourage community organization. The primary resource requirement for this initiative is land, and the McNary reservation currently has a significant amount of it that is under-utilized due to the logging industry’s collapse. Organic farming also aligns well with the strengths and weaknesses of the McNary community, as it is labor intensive rather than capital intensive . We believe the cooperative model paired with the growing, organic market, constitute a viable and culturally-appropriate organizational model for resilience-building in McNary. To date we have hosted tribal member visits to Guatemalan cooperatives to d e m o n s t r a t e t h e o rg a n i z a t i o n a l m o d e l .
Through this partnership and cooperative we hope to realize a number of b e n e f i ts f o r th e M c N a r y c o m m u n i ty.
Our Specific Project Goals are to Build Community Resilience Increase the mean income for families in McNary, Arizona Improve access to healthy food Foster the growth of entrepreneurial vision Reinforce civic virtue, participation and identity create a central transformational community space
PARTNERS
Growing
M c N a r y i s a c o m m u n i t y m a ro o n e d by t h e changing tides of economic growth. It grew as a company town, completely dependent on logging, so when this industry collapsed, McNary was set adrift with inadequate political, economic and social capital to help it adapt.
Here are some of the tangible benefits enabled by our projects in 2014: Currently 13 women’s circles, comprised of 325 women and 10 men, operate in 15 communities in the western highlands. Each women’s circle member benefits from a broad suite of training workshops, which cover behavioural health, self-esteem, civic participation and entrepeneurship content. Long-term participants also qualify for a smokeless, indoor cookstove.
155 improved cookstoves were installed in western
highland communities last year. These stoves improved the health and wellbeing of 930 individuals. Last year, the Santa Catarina, Ixtanhuacan, Community Center was completed with doors and steps. The Center has since hosted health, business and entrepreneurship courses for community members and 10 COCODES [Community Development Council] meetings.
HSP hosted 27 service trips, comprised of a total of 444 volunteers, last year,through its organizational partners, Highland Partners and Partners in Service. These groups participated in the construction of 155 stoves. Service trip fee revenue has employed 3 indigenous cooks (who cater for groups), five community masons and one master mason (who work on community infrastructure), and a Maya lecturer.
IMPACTS
A new sanitation and water treatment system in the Chuicutama community now directly benefits the health of 26 families and 135 people. This project was realized through community labor and Aldersgate service trip income. Community members are also drawing a consistent income by hosting service trips.
Since the inception of these service trip programs, we have hosted between 300 and 500 volunteers each year. Thus the same number of, generally North American, volunteers have broadened their understanding of poverty, its causes and remedies, and partaken in rich, often transformative, cross-cultural exchanges. Our Preventative Health program taught 150 people about hygiene, nutrition and diabetes. HSP’s direct aid textile project, Pixan, saw 80 women earn income of at least $100 per month in the last half of 2014. These women reported that this new income will go towards their childrens’ school, food, clothes, shoes and medicines. A beautiful new product line, of naturally dyed scarfs, was showcased at New York’s premier boutique tradeshow. The construction of a new Twinin’witz Primary School classroom was finished in 2014. It is now occupied by 40 enthusiastic grade five and six children. The classroom was generously sponsored by the VALE United Methodist Church.
3 community gardens, 2 greenhouses and a
rainwater harvest system have also been built.
IMPACTS
The sustainable agricultural project has enabled health and wellbeing improvements and new economic opportunities in Chuicavioc, Espumpuja, Bella Vista, and Llanos del Pinal where organic agricultural training was provided to 17 women.
The program saw one woman, Maria Felipa, launch her own produce label at the end of 2014 and an online indiegogo campaign was launched to raise funds for the program.
Financial Statement STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
FOR YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2014
FOR YEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2014
REVENUES
ASSETS Cash
101,387
Contributions and grants
Accounts receivable
122,177
Program service sales
616,914
Total Revenues
681,398
Inventories Total fixed assets Total Assets
0 904 224,468
LIABILITIES Current liabilities Long-term liabilities Total Liabilities
EXPENDITURES AMA
120,910
FNRI*
240
5,054
Highland Partners
481,858
0
Support services
55,865
5,054
NET ASSETS Total Net Assets
64,484
219,414
Total Expenditures
658,873
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
22,525
Net Assets - beginning of the year
196,889
Net Assets - end of the year
219,414
*First Nations Research Institute
We thank all of our donors for their generous gifts in 2014. In particular, we send big thanks to:
The Highland Fellows program The Highland Fellows program is another strong manifestation of Highland Suppor t Project’s commitment to providing direct opportunities for individual participation in grassroots projects. In 2014, HSP crafted over a dozen fellowship experiences, involving indigenous community engagement, for students and young professionals, locally and abroad. Local Highland Fellowship highlights include the work of Richmond’s Ariel Maloof, a graduate of Randolph Macon College, who is interested in nonprofit management and sustainable community outreach. Guided by HSP staff, her Highland Fellowship involved developing the, now annual, Bluegrass & Brews Festival. This festival is both a celebration of the rich musical history of Appalachia and the local artisan brewery culture. It also raises money for our Stove Project and is a great opportunity for mountain folk to support mountain folk in a lively, 12-hour festival.
Our accountant, David Berry, who generously does our taxes each year pro bono. Trish Vaughan, our energetic new Board President who skillfully keeps us productive and on-task Marilyn Blagg, a passionate team leader who engages people in mission from all over Staunton, California and beyond, while advocating for us within her church and the United Methodist Church at large. Loreta Walker, the sweetest mission partner and regular donor you could ask for, who trusted us to take her and her family on a Guatemalan journey. Deb Cohen, our fundraising guru, who makes it possible for her community to directly engage on large-scale, community-based projects.Â
Jason Micheli, the charismatic ball of sarcasm who made HSP advocating in the face of struggles great and small his mission, and who; made it possible for an entire community to access life-saving sanitation resources. Continued benevolence support from the generous congregations of River Road UMC, Westminster Presbyterian and Fredericksburg UMC. Simone Riddle and Stephen Tallman, two dedicated board members who make generous monthly recurring donations. Amanda Putman, an amazing teacher who leaps countless organizational hurdles to engage an increasing number of students and partner with us in an annual cross-cultural, language immersion program. Our ongoing partnerships with Deloitte and the Inter American Foundation (IAF) have been instrumental in Pixan becoming a viable,independent social enterprise. And finally big thanks to Arizona sustainable agriculture consultants, Kim and Joe Costion for their tireless work.
A special thanks to our organizational partners