On the southern coast of Guatemala, BANASA and Grupo HAME have disrupted the lives of campesino Ocos communities in order to grow palm oil and bananas for export. They cut down forests, diverted a major river, built seventeen dams and polluted the surrounding land in order to grow and irrigate their crops.
In the dry season, all of the river’s water goes to the agribusiness, but when heavy rains come, the surrounding communities and fields are flooded. One particular flood a few years ago destroyed a million dollars worth of crops, devastating 700 families.
“Before we had much more water,” explained on resident, “we planted, we had our harvest, rice, everything grew. But the companies came and began moving the river, and during the rainy season, they started dumping the water on us, since the water was no longer useful to them.”
The Diocesis de San Marcos (a partner of MCC Guatemala) produced this excellent documentary, Ocos Despierta, that tells the story of the Ocos communities since the agribusinesses took over.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4R3BL3-UbA?rel=0&w=420&h=315]
[…] + Ocos Despierta: A Community in the Shadow of Agribusiness (Video)On the southern coast of Guatemala, two agribusinesses have disrupted the lives of campesino Ocos communities in order to grow palm oil and bananas for export. They cut down forests, diverted a major river, built seventeen dams and polluted the surrounding land in order to grow and irrigate their crops. […]