The Big Update

Sent from the Frontline on beautiful Lake Petén Itzá

Photocredit Sandra Sebastian

Dearest friends and family,

I had been watching the David Attenborough Documentaries and paying more attention to the Climate Crisis when Covid hit. On one of those days wrote down in my journal "time to head for the hills". I had been thinking for some time about living a simpler life, leaving less imprint, being more proactive in the global movement, and doing more to help assure there will actually still be a liveable world for our children and future generations to grow up in.

Last July I got a phone call from an old friend of mine who asked if I would be interested in moving up to Peten to work, I took one look at the photos he sent me and immediately said YES!

As a first timer up here, I spent the better part of my first days up here like a child, utterly gobsmacked; captivated by the totally mind-blowing abundance of minerals, insects, animals, and plants. I had never been to a rainforest area before.

Holy wow! The sheer quantity of life!

Standing at the edge of the lake in blasts of balmy wind and pouring rain, watching the deep dark grey storm clouds coming from the Caribbean, across the border of Belize ( half an hour away), roaring in over the lukewarm bathwater blue lake; the only word I could find at the time to sum up the experience was- Primordial!

You really feel time out of time here.

The locals say

" Did you drink the water? You know if you drank the water you will never leave, right?"

Moral and Social Obligation to do Some Good in the World

As I settled in, surrounded by all this extraordinary beauty, I became aware of the singularity of my situation as the only foreigner living in my village, I am very much alone as a sole witness seeing what I see as a resident to a place that should sincerely and quite frankly be on the Human Rights Watch list.

I am living amid a level of extreme poverty that I have never seen so unanimously, across the board, with almost every single household suffering from chronic to medical grade malnutrition that induces secondary issues from lack of food on a daily basis. The severity of the food shortages and local employment opportunities for families in this village is not unique, the same is true in other of our neighbouring villages here.

The remoteness of location reveals immense challenges for the people here who live with an absolutely heartbreaking failure of systems, infrastructure, and vast negligence of basic human rights, which as a result make it one of the most vulnerable areas of the country. Development has not reached here, no aid reaches here, and nobody is coming to help.

Although numerous national and international studies and strategic plans have been developed for the region, since the 1990’s few changes have been made and little has been done to implement them. As a result the daily reality reveals heavy migration to the US, major dependancy on remittances sent by family in the US, domestic violence, child abuse, child labor, and child/teen pregnancies.

As I walk back from the tienda in the rain with a basket full of food to make some pasta for lunch, three small kids covered in mud, their arms around each others shoulders are dancing together with massive smiles, in oversized rubber rain boots borrowed from someone bigger. They shout out "Buenas tardes Dona Ema".

Moments before I had literally been thinking to myself, how am I ever going to make any difference here. Its so bad.

As I watch the kids, time stands still. I take in their beauty, their freedom, their innocence. What right do I have to tell them how bad their situation is? They have no idea, its the only life they know, and little else to compare it with. I wonder what they have eaten today, knowing if they did, whatever it was, it probably wasn't much. That the amount I just spent on my food would last them days, and quite literally and shameful to say that my dogs live better conditions and have more food than they do is a heavy weight to live next to day after day.

But I also know is that if I don't, who will? If I don't speak on to this, who will? If I don't do something, who will?

The fact that I am endorsed by Unesco carries with it a social commitment to do good with it. The weight of living situation, seeing what I see here day after day, is sometimes truly unbearable. I witness on the one hand this pure joy and innocence in the people here, and on the other hand a social acceptance and normalization of brutalities that come as a direct result of extreme and multi generational poverty.

The UNESCO Connection

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Here we are, only a stones throw away from one of the worlds most significant crowning jewels of ancient civilization Tikal ruins, and the protected Mayan Biosphere, treasured national destinations that are sought out worldwide are literally something like 6 miles away-

Tikal National Park possess both Natural and Cultural Unesco World Heritage Site titles which is quite rare. Most other Unesco Heritage Sites around the world only have one or the other.

The conservation of Tikal and the Mayan Bio Itza are fairly well supported by numerous large global organizations and famous individuals like Leo Di Caprio and Morgan Freeman. Yet merely a question of feet outside of the protected border, are the local people living in places that are barely on the map, in hovels, gravely suffering in horrifying conditions, out of sight, off the beaten track, where nobody goes.

The lake and indigenous communities here remain invisible, unheard, and unsupported.

Being endorsed by Unesco, the transition from the last four years living and working in the city of Antigua that is also a World Heritage site, to a rural village setting near Tikal has been a seamless and wonderful growth opportunity for me on a personal and organisational level.

It was clear to me from early on in 2017 when I was configuring my organization that I could build it from the start to work as a repeatable model process using the same methodology of Development and Facilitation to be applicable to other barrios, villages, towns, or cities, as time went on. So when the opportunity came up to test it out in an the rural setting, I was pretty excited to see how it would work.

For Antigua the work focus was raising it as the "Epicentre of Arts & Culture".

For the Tikal region the work focus is on raising it as the "Epicentre of Conservation & Ecology".

Supporting Indigenous Land Stewards leading our global Future

The people of these villages witness, experience, and the suffer the consequences that are created as a direct result of all of our global consumer habits and industry practices Wreaking destruction on the local species and habitat, environmental devastation is happening right outside our backdoor here. The heartbreaking effects are playing out on the health and hearth of every home in the area.

These folks have a very real live motivation. With children going hungry at the table everyday, they live with the urgency to be able to build a future that will be sustainable, and that will raise the community out of poverty for once and for all. As a question of survival, setting up a more prosperous future for this part of the earth and the generations to come- has to start by acting today !!!

The communities here have a very unique opportunity being so undeveloped, they have the possibility to pretty quickly, and very naturally, become entirely bio friendly, sustainable, eco villages and communities.

They have the ability to do what is called "Leapfrogging" as there is little they have to reverse they can go directly green from the get go as they "develop". They don't need to do Cement Houses, they can do adobe etc.

With literally just a tiny bit of ingenuity and community coordination, and a relatively small amount of investment, there is an INCREDIBLE potential and opportunity for these villages to absolutely flourish and be an example of development that lives in harmony with nature based on the core values and culture of Indigenous Community themselves.

There are so many easy fixes, and such a wealth of knowledge. With generations of families who have been stewarding the land with traditional methods, intimately know all of the trees, plants, and animals by name, it is essential that they determine, and have voice and say as to what, and how, they want development to be, and look like, on their own terms.

Partnering with ADICA Peten

La Asociacion de Desarrollo Integral Campesina y Ambiental de Peten

Putting the care of the species, forests, and land BACK INTO the hands of the people who have always carried the deep connection to nature, who understand our interdependence, who respect, and who culturally since the beginning of time know they are a part, not separate, from Mother Earth, la Madre Tierra, Pachamama.

More and more the Western World is beginning to turn to and sit down and actually listen to Indigenous Communities around the world seeking their insight and knowledge. We are finally accepting we know very little about caring for the Earth (or we wouldn't have destroyed it to begin with).

That if we are to survive we need to step back our egos and humbly offer to help move their presence, and voices to the forefront into positions of authority as the people in the know .

In 2019 a group of indigenous campesinos in my village, from the most humble backgrounds, took the time to sit down together to see how to resolve their situation, came to agreements, developed a whole set of objectives, goals, ambitions, a well thought out organization, strategic development actions, created a repeatable model plan, made by and for the people, that would work not only for them, but for nature, and other campesinos too, found a lawyer to help them write it up, and pooled their pennies to legalise their Association.

During 2 years of the pandemic everything got stalled. Paying out of pocket to keep it going, about to close it down, Don Juan came and sat me down, to see if I might be able to help-

Don Juan Mejila , President of the Association

With deepest respect, admiration, and humble acceptance; being asked to represent and be a part of the Association is one of the greatest honors I have received in my life.

Before I had even heard about the Association, which was three months ago, I had worked independently the last year and a half on my own doing intensive on the ground field and grants research, written up all of the documentation, redone the website and formulated, and got going all of the projects you are seeing here ( except the acquisition of the Association land). Everything else I had already put together based on identifying the local attributes and community needs, build through listening, to be tailored made to fit, to be for, and by the people, from inception.

So I am absolutely humbled to have been present here this last year and a half, to have been working on their behalf, to be personally asked to be a member of the Association, and serve in the organisational capacity as Co Administrator to promote and assist the Association in development, to advocate as their international representative voice to the world, boosted with my ever present endorsement of UNESCO.

Our partnership takes both of our work to an entirely new next level, joining forces to pioneer our community initiatives that are created, powered, driven by fifty (50) Founding Association families.

I am really working from the heart here!

Having spent my formative years at the Fellowship in Spring Valley and grown up on the farm at Hawthorne Valley with parents who have worked for the HV Association since 1984, I really feel a return to my roots and deep connection to this place.

But also as, much like Hawthorne Valley, this Associations goal is to be able to build, form, and grow a new intentional model of community centred in organics, ecology, and sustainability.

Like Hawthorne Valley it is a globally conscious collective initiative working on a local community scale. It is part of a larger global consorted effort to shift the use of natural resources, to create the needed cultural and economic changes toward a more prosperous loving future for our children and all life in this beautiful part of earth!

It Really resonates with me in all the right ways.

We have an absolute ton of work to do, and a lot of meetings on the agenda. As we move into our growth and development this year we will be inviting other leaders and founders from other community initiatives, hosting workshops, asking for professional guidance, and seeking people who are willing to come visit and share their knowledge.

We have our eye on a number of different potential, ideally sized farms with large acreage, and have begun applying for Land Grants to buy the Association land.

We have gained unanimous support and have been working in collaboration with the local heads of Government Municipalities, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Departments, the National Tourism Commission, UNESCO, Town and Community Boards as well as local and national stakeholders. All of whom are offering to be of any assistance to help us move forward.

With this kind of collaborative power, we have the ability in our hands to change the future of our social, economic, and environmental relationships, creating prosperity and well being for the Tikal region, the lake, and the people of its communities.

The Peten Itza initiatives are a postulate of potential with all of the right components to be able to triumph and are in alignment with 15 of the 17 United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNESCO’s visions and missions.

Small steps towards a large goal

There is an extraordinary wealth of resources and land here that these folks have not been able to fully capitalise on. We have the opportunity to radically improve the quality of everyones lives here, to end starvation, to grow and produce locally, be self sustainable, create many new revenue streams, new forms of livelihood, to become a stellar example of green and eco living, a place of national and international interest- in no better place on earth than right here next to Tikal and the rainforest, on this incredibly beautiful big blue lake of Peten Itza.

We are very excited to share the Official Launch of our Fundraising Campaign for ADICA Peten Today!!!

Thank you so much for helping us reach our goal, reposting and spreading the good word! Check it out, click our link below:)))

Please pledge what you can, every single contribution is deeply appreciated and helps us to carry our ADICA families and projects forward at this critical moment in time of growth.

Our Community Garden

Our priority is to begin to provide our families with urgently needed food as quickly as possible, begin to offer work, and immediate income possibilities for a number of our Association Families.

Herson ( an Association member) and I have been working relentlessly the past months clearing, preparing, mapping, and improving the soils for the Community Garden on my 1/2 an acre of rented Land that had been pretty abandoned, to begin to provide food security, as an 'in- town' plot example, and demonstration site.

Once the Association has its own land our principal community garden will be on the Association property. The Community Garden is one of the major components within in the longterm goals of the Association that will ultimately be run on a much larger scale, farmed by the Association members on the Association Land, with produce distribution around the lake.

But...in the meantime our in -town Community Garden shows as an example of the actions we are already taking, and one of the things we can do RIGHT NOW.

The purpose of our in -town garden is to be able to show a working, growing example of what is possible- for all the other families in the village to copy.

Everyone is starving, BUT, literally everyone also has a decent sized dirt back yard AND, literally everyone already also knows how to garden.

One we need to start sharing ideas, but two, most families cannot afford to start even a modest home garden, so it is critical that we be able to carry the initial start up as a community minded initiative that IS able to spark and support as many people as possible regardless of financial ability. We are seeking to impulse more community exchanges, be that through gifting , give what you can, trade and barter.

We are not seeking sole gain or instant profitability, but rather the long run over all wealth and health of robust and thriving community that is ultimately providing for itself and many more as part of a larger cooperative network system to include surplus crops, artesanal homemade products, and distribution.

The Community Garden project is to be able to incentivise but also directly support and multiply the number of families who are growing food in their own back yards.

The goal is to get all of these hungry families, especially the women who are at home to grow food.

To be able to walk outside and be able to pick and provide fresh organic regularly used vegetables and fruit, have access to a community plant nursery, village seed share, increase the village exchanges of home grown goods and products, and start up a little central location Farmers Market Stand selling local produce onsite.

The Peas & Queue's

As a demonstration site for we are creating beautiful gardens for people to experience, and open up opprtunities to share conversation about balanced ecology and growing food We are building replicable structural examples for planting

From small spaces, vertical, raised beds, patio planters in addition to our main garden

To show achievable designs that others can build in their own backyards

In different degrees from exposed, to chicken proof, pig proof, to horse proof

At zero cost!

Sourced with natural materials that are readily found in the natural surroundings. Community Seed share Integrating diversity

Landscaping with native plants and wildflowers

Showing examples of High density planting, increased yields, composting methods

Showing grass and leaf mulching for minimal need for watering

What likes to be planted in the variety of natural soil types we have locally

Soil improvement methods

Rain water conservation, collection, and re use

Nursery

And a little homestead farm stand with products from our gardens

We already have bananas (guineo), plantain, limes, ponderosa lemons, avocado, papaya, Zapote mamey, Chico Zapote, jocotes (Hog plum), Annona and some varieties of native edible greens.

We are planting mellon, strawberries, lettuces, chard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, basil, cilantro, mint, celery, onion, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and more.

Quite often families who have land after harvesting, and taking what they need for their families, go door to door offering surplus fresh picked black beans from their crops for example. Its an interesting component that makes me think about how can we support that more so that families intentionally perhaps plant extra, CSA style, or buy it directly. Ideas. Anyway, we will get there.

We are currently dependent on the national food distribution system with all produce going to and through Guatemala City, over 900 miles away. The vegetables and fruits that arrive are mostly withered, with little nutrition and life left in them.

Getting Art into peoples hands and into the World

The Ceramics Open Studio Center for Creativity Land, Arts, & Kids Space

I opened the Studio in November. Starting small to gauge the level of interest in the Community I decided to begin with offering drop in Guided afternoon Creative Activities, primary with Clay, for my neighborhood children. The response has been overwhelming, and more of a success than I was prepared for. I have to step up my game. I had 10 kids right off the bat and many more kids hounding me who want to come. So far it has been between 6-10 children per session.

For the younger children, I am more focused on free creativity than technique .

I set the Open studio up to be a "feel free to come when you can" basis, as most folks, both young and old have work, or need to be present at home, the group changes and varies from session to session and day to day.

We have been harvesting and processing the uber abundant variety of wild clays, doing basic beginner ceramics and sculpture.

People of all ages are welcomed to join in on Thursdays, but I am also now starting up an ongoing session geared toward adolescents and adults on Saturdays as I have now been approached by a number of people who would like to come.

Building up a Ceramics Cooperative

With an infinite supply of clay here my goal is to be able to get folks trained in pottery as a new form of permanent livelihood, to help them develop their unique line of stoneware, to form a Ceramics Cooperative where we produce and showcase beautiful products onsite, welcome visitors, distribute and have an online store, process and sell raw clays.

Building Adobe

We are also talking quite a bit about building Adobe houses and there is a lot of interest.

Skills and Trainings

For both the Ceramics Workshop and the Adobe building we will be asking experienced Ceramicists and specialists from around the world to come and give workshops so we can develop additional skills and tecniques beyond the beginner classes that I can do.

Sculpture Garden

I am using our property to integrate and infuse outdoor artworks.

Becoming an artist at the end of the 90's in a post warto the date, one of my main interests and activities has been in how to use art as a catalyst for social change, the use of public spaces for art, and how to assure art is democratised to be able to reach everyone.

Although I do love a great gallery opening, as such I have never been entirely in agreement with the exclusive format knowing so many people outside will find the door intimidating and never walk in which always causes some conflict in me, as it leaves so many people completely out.

I am more and more interested in the cross over between architecture, design, nature and art. We are creating a community space that combines the cross over between how a garden can become art, and art that becomes the land and art.

Social, Public, Environment, & Art

Olafur Eliason Glacier Ice Watch Tate Modern

The project is designed to raise awareness about global warming by giving a tangible experience of ecological change - a phenomenon that often seems distant and out of our control.

We sent Guatemalan Contemporary Art to Belgium & France

We just sent our fist shipment of original art Made in Guate ® from some of the top Contemporary artists in Guatemala to Belgium and France to get it out into the world.

I have been building up a private collection of art over the last 20 years that has been hauled around back and forth with me and sitting in my private archives.

As an artist, I can speak to how wonderful it is, to see where pieces I have created end up. My partner Erik and I are delighted to be promoting these artists, many of whom have never been seen outside of Guatemala. We have sent them off into the International Artworld to be enjoyed and appreciated by international art lovers!

Other Mid Year Review Highlights

Bootstrapping to get going we have managed a lot this year.

March 2022 meeting with core founding group families who all came in Sunday best.

Youth & Education

We are very proud of the 339 students of the Class of 2022 who we we supported the last 6 months that just had their graduation a week ago!

We have had the honor to play a small hand in our youths futures by providing the salary of the one missing teacher that would make or break graduating for these students this year! Big Congrats!

Community Garbage service pick up is now happening thanks to our team members taking initiative to get the Municipality to get a weekly garbage pick up happening so families don't burn their garbage in the yard or chuck it on the road.

Agro Forestry began this year by setting up the connection for the first 14 of over 140 families to join hands with Contour Lines to plant and implement regenerative agriculture to improve the productivity and health of their land.

Our ADICA Peten projects are predominantly designed to become self sustainable; much of our work will continue to be non for profit supported by grants and donations, to help carry our administration, and most importantly that our education activities, workshops, and cultural offerings, especially here, are accessible to all- and free of charge.

Cheers Everyone,

Now that I got the "Big Update" out there, I am looking forward to sharing more continual but much briefer fun updates with you as we move forward:)

Much love to you all

Em