Community Life:
- The community of Parajbey is made up of 200 Maya Kaqchikel families.
- The village was founded by two families-the Tubacs and the Ajtzacs-in 1846.
- Parajbey is in the municipal district of Santa Apolonia. It is close to other Santa Apolonia villages and also those from other two municipalities: San José Poaquil and Tecpán.
- The main productive activity in the community, apart from agriculture, is the making of clay pots, which are sold in one of the main markets of Guatemala City by intermediaries.
Our Partnership:
When we began working with Parajbey in July 2014, 63 percent of the community’s children under five suffered from chronic malnutrition. When Parajbey graduate from our two-year program in June 2016, that rate had been reduced to 37 percent.
Integrated Approach to Development: Parajbey’s Progress to Date
- Community Mobilization and Empowerment: Complete – Just a few short months into our partnership, youth who participate in empowerment activities started their own agricultural project: growing oyster mushrooms on corn cobs.
- Nutrition: Complete
- Water, Sanitation & Hygiene: Complete
- Food Security (Sustainable Agriculture): Complete
- Family Planning: Complete
- Disaster Risk Reduction: Complete
See more about how we work in our partner communities
Community Perspectives:
“Before, I was a very shy person, but with the training I have received from ABPD/ALDEA, I am now one of the community promoters. I have learned many things, and I give talks to other women about women’s rights, family planning, hygiene, nutrition and self-esteem. I have seen a big change in the community. Most families have many children and they have no money to feed them properly, but now the couples are using family planning methods and deciding how many children they want to have and when. This has been possible thanks to the ABPD/ALDEA’s work in the community.”
-Glenda Beatriz Sisimit Colon (23)