In the Kaqchikel language, “Xiquin Juyú” means “at the edge of the hill.” The community is located about 4.5 miles east of the municipal seat of Tecpán. The village is home to 140 families, about 870 people. It was founded in 1996, when community members separated from a larger community called Xenimajuyú. About 75 percent of the families are Catholic, 20 percent are Charismatic Christian, and 5 percent attend other churches outside the village.
The community’s main productive activity is agriculture, especially corn, beans, strawberries, potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. Some people also work for larger farms, where men are paid $6 per day for their labor and women receive $4.50.
Xiquin Juyú has a primary school serving 190 children from kindergarten through sixth grade. There is not a health post in the community, but a nurse visits once per week to provide vaccinations to children. Eighty percent of families have electricity in their homes, and 75 percent of the roads are dirt.
Our Partnership:
ALDEA and ABPD began working with 98 Xiquin Juyú families in July 2019. Our goal is to reduce chronic childhood malnutrition now, while supporting the community in building their capacity to address further development challenges on their own into the future. We are working together on:
- Water, Sanitation & Hygiene: A potable water system, sanitary latrines, gray water filters, and efficient vented stoves will reduce the risk of gastrointestinal diseases and improve indoor air quality, improving health and allowing children to make the most of the nutrients they consume. Currently the community is making plans to dig a well, and once the well is finished ALDEA and ABPD will support the rest of the water system constructed. Work on gray water filters has begun, and the rest of the projects will be implemented as funding becomes available.
- Family Planning: We provide training and family planning methods so that women and men have the opportunity to decide the number and spacing of their children. Work began in July 2019 with completion expected in June 2021.
- Community Mobilization & Empowerment: Trainings and activities with men, women, youth, and local authorities began in July 2019 with completion expected in June 2021.
- Nutrition Education: Trainings and activities began in July 2019 with completion expected in June 2021.
- Food Security (Sustainable Agriculture): Trainings and activities began in July 2019 with completion expected in June 2021.
- Disaster Risk Reduction: Activities will begin in February 2020 with completion expected in June 2021.