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Last November, participants from our partners in San Marcos, Nebaj and El Salvador visited the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (IMAP) in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, where they learned about the philosophy and ethics of Permaculture, local markets, seed banks, water management, garden design, soil care, and best practices focused on efficiency.
The idea of organizing a local tour with this theme came from casual conversations with the local partners where we learned about their interest in permaculture. After exploring some options, we discovered IMAP, an institute that specializes in permaculture techniques along with the ancestral and traditional knowledge. This approach reconciles quite well with the interests of our participants.
The Mennonite Central Committee of Guatemala and El Salvador supports such exchanges between people in the communities where it works through the Connecting Peoples Program. Likewise, this program also organizes International Exchanges, usually between people of El Salvador, Guatemala and North America to share experiences together, build connections, and learn about their contexts and the social problems that plague these countries. The Learning Tours from North to South allow internal initiatives such as this one to be posible thanks to fact that a portion of their funds is intended to sponsor these activities.
Similar is the case of Juan Carlos Terraza who also took part in the workshop and developed a new design in his plot in order to participate in a contest for young farmers in the indigenous Ixil area.
Learning new techniques such as the permaculture organic agriculture creates pride among the young Ixil farmers.
To learn more: IMAP: http://imapermaculture.wordpress.com/