Wakami Villages

“Generating creative and sustainable ways of living with women as agents of change”

Changing cycles of poverty into cycles of prosperity is what the Saqil group is about. The Saqil group is comprised of 3 organizations, that generate local sources of income, especially for rural women, by connecting them to export value chains. Each organization is specialized , to be able to accomplish this:

Communities of the Earth – the NGO that incubates rural businesses, allowing women to become organized, form their business, develop a production strategy and skills needed to become part of a value chain.
Kiej de los Bosques – is a company that designs products that meet two criteria: can be made by rural women, but follow the global fashion trends. Kiej also markets the products, to both national and international markets, through its umbrella brand – Wakami. Kiej becomes the first client for the recently incubated rural groups.
Wakami World – is a company based in the US that allows access to paypal, something not possible from Guatemalan banks.

For the first 18 years, the focus of the initiative was to generate sources of income. Now, the Saqil group knows how to do this. It has incubated more than 50 rural companies, incorporating more than 1500 people, mostly women, to markets.

The Saqil group is now focusing on the Wakami Value Chain. Is currently working with 15 rural companies, about 270 people of which 80% are women, and is exporting the products designed and produced to more than 12 countries.

Now that local sources of income are becoming possible for rural communities, the next step is to start working towards creative and sustainable ways of life. Here is where the Wakami Village idea was born. It is going beyong solving poverty. It aims to implement a methodology and a platform where people come together to create sustainable ways of life, where rural women, that are mothers, become strong agents of change at the different levels.

Wakami Villages is a methodology and a platform, where rural women with income, can start becoming agents of change in their family, their home, their community and the Planet.

The main goal of Wakami Villages is to become a tool in generating creative and sustainable ways of living.

The methodology has different levels in which women are given a menu of opportunities to invest in alternatives that improve everything around them.

The Wakami Villages program is coordinated by Communities of the Earth. However, for them to become a reality, two things are crucial:

Showcase women the different alternatives that could dramatically improve their lives and the lives of their community.
Make alliances with the organizations specialized in the different rural services, so once the women decide they want to get them, these organizations can provide it.

The menu is given at different levels. Here is a summary of it:

WAKAMI FAMILIES: allowing women to have a source of income, investing in their children`s nutrition and education, at the same time, they are able to save some money for investments needed or emergencies.
WAKAMI HOMES: Allowing women to invest in services that impact greatly the quality of life in their home. An alliance with a micro-credit organization is key so women could take loans to invest in these services. (stoves, filters, solar units, etc).
WAKAMI LAND: Allowing women to connect with the land, by producing their own organic native crops and developing a solid waste management and recycling program.
WAKAMI COMMUNITIES: allowing women to motivate the creation of public/reacreative spaces, and allowing them to participate in local spaces, proposing community initiatives and following them up.

A detailed description of each topic is presented in the table below.

TOPIC	MAIN SERVICE	PROVIDER OF THE SERVICE	ROLE OF THE RURAL WOMEN	FOLLOW-UP
Allowing women to have a source of income, investing in their children`s nutrition and education, at the same time, they are able to save some money for investments needed or emergencies.
Woman in the family has a source of income	Generate local sources of income for rural women that are mothers	Wakami Value Chain	Become part fo a rural company	Communities of the Earth gives community coaching for 2 years, until they graduate as a rural company.
Weight and height of children under 10	Children are monitored for height and weight every 4 months.	A local woman, that has this knowledge and an organization specialized in recovering undernourished children, when necessary.	Take their children to be monitored.	If undernourished children are found, they will be referred to an organization that can do this.
School attendance for boys and girls under 18	Periodic interviews will take place to determine the studying status of children under 18.	A local woman (interview). An alliance with an organization that gives scholarships.	Answer the interviews, and give reasons why children are or are not attending school (primary, middle and high school).	Stimulate women in having their children graduate from high school (keeping a special eye on girls). Finding scholarships will be key in this phase.
Financial literacy	To motivate women to have savings accounts.	Technician from CofE will give the course. Alliances with banking institutions will be important.	Commit to saving a certain amount per month, both at the company level, as well as the personal level. This will allow them to make some investments later on.	Monitoring number of women with savings accounts and the amounts commited by them.
WAKAMI HOMES Allowing women to invest in services that impact greatly the quality of life in their home. An alliance with a micro-credit organization is key so women could take loans to invest in these services.
Filters	Contaminated water in rural Guatemala is one of the main reasons for malnutrition and death of children. These filters guarantee clean water for human consumption in the cheapest and most efficient way.	Alliances with organizations like Eco Filters, can provide both the training and the services.	Go to the training which explains both the importance of having clean water, as well as the use of the filter. Buying the filter if they feel necessary.	Monitor the proper use of the filter.
Stoves	Smoke from cooking in the homes is a major health issue in rural homes. Having a stove with a chimney to avoid this is key to the development of healthy children.	Alliances with organizations like Helps International, can provide both the training and the services.	Go to the training which explains both the importance of having a smokeless stove, as well as the use of it. Buying the stove if they feel necessary.	Monitor the proper use of the stove.
Solar energy units	Electricity is lacking in many rural homes, so candles are used instead. These solar energy units provide light and the possibility to charge phones, computers, etc. at a low cost for rural homes.	Alliances with organizations like Quetzol, that have different types of solar units for rural homes.	Go to the training which explains both the importance of solar energy, as well as the use of it. Buying the kit if they feel necessary.	Monitor the proper use of the units.
Rain water collecting devices	Water is scarce in many rural homes, where women have to walk many miles for water. By having these devices, rain water can be storage in their homes, lifting a big weight out of rural women, and allowing them to have water for the home and the garden.	CofEarth technicians can train the women and set up the system.	Go to the training which explains both the importance of collecting rain water as well as the use of the kit.	Monitor proper use of units.
Letrines/bathrooms	Proper disposal of human waste is essential for community health. Having different options for communities is key.	Organizations that specialize in this.	Go to the training which explains both the importance of letrines/bathrooms, as well as the proper use.	Monitor proper cleaning of the letrines/bathrooms.
Green home made with local materials	Optimizing use of local materials for green homes is key.	Architect or local organization that can develop a model of a green home using local materials for 3 different ecosystems: dryland, highland, coast.	Get the training to aid in the construction of the home.	Monitor construction and housekeeping.
WAKAMI LAND Allowing women to connect with the land, by producing their own organic native crops and developing a solid waste management and recycling program.
Organic gardens with organic native crops	The land in Guatemala is very fertile and native plants grow everywhere. By recovering these plants, organic, pesticide free food should be easily available in the community.	Cofthe Earth technicians, teaching the women how to make their own gardens.	Plant their gardens, harvest native seeds and seedlings to be shared with other women.
Cooking with organic native crops	One of the reasons for malnutrition, is lack of education as to which kinds of foods and how to cook them.	Cofthe Earth technicians, teaching the women how to cook fruits and vegetables form the garden.	Take the lessons, cook from their garden.	Consumption of organic natives crops grown by the women.
Waste management and recycling	When communities start having a source of income, trash can become a problem. By teaching how to dispose of it and recycle it, communities can be cleaned up – something so needed in rural villages, key to health and the beauty of the community.	Alliance with an organization that can set up such systems in communities and make alliances necessary with local governments.	Participate in the program, starting with the separation of the trash.	Follow up on the program, making sure recycled materials can be sold as a key incentive.
WAKAMI COMMUNITIES allowing women to motivate the creation of public/reacreative spaces, and allowing them to participate in local spaces, proposing community initiatives and following them up.
Creation of public/recreation spaces	The lack of public recreation spaces in rural communities is clear. The role these spaces play in keeping the children and adolescents in healthy activities is key. These spaces allow to start creating ARTISTIC PLACES USING LOCAL CREATIVITY AND RESOURCES, key to going beyong solving poverty.	CoftheEarth technicians, working with local authorities and local organizations.	Imagine, create and support the process to develop such spaces.
Incidence in local spaces	Once women become empowered, it is important that they also start to participate in local spaces where decisions are made for their community. It is important that they start proposing programs needed and give the proper follow up.	RIMISP will be training the leaders into how to participate in such spaces and proposed projects of interest to their communities.	Participate in these spaces, proposing programs and following up.