This year, we’ve taken not one but three trips to help plant over 3500 (wow!) saplings in the area just outside our community of Cajolá. For every purchase made through the website, Mayamam Weavers donates a sapling to be planted in Cajolá, the town where the weaving cooperative is located. Customers are also able to add the purchase of an extra sapling or two to their cart. Some choose to add additional saplings to their order as a gift too.
We recognize how vital it is to take care of the earth and restore the local resources that have been depleted. The wooded hills and mountains surrounding Cajolá in the western highlands of Guatemala were once home to fresh springs and rivers. The name Cajolá actually means “son of water” in a Maya language. Sadly, years of cutting down trees to use for the firewood that fuels the kitchen stoves has stripped out the lush forest and seriously reduced the water flowing from the springs. This has a tremendous impact on not only the water sources but also on the habitats of a great number of wildlife species like birds, small mammals and insects.
Group Cajolá is a community based organization that Mayamam Weavers is a part of. They are working to develop the town so there is no need for forced migration. As part of its mission to address environmental degradation, they gather volunteers along with students from the middle schools to plant saplings each spring. Climate change is wreaking havoc with this annual project, and this year it was difficult to find weekend days that were not under horrendous rain. Three separate trips were taken in between the downpours, one of which was with our fair trade friends at Yabal Handicrafts. Together we planted alder, pine and oak saplings. Later on in the year, we will follow our footsteps back into the mountains to see how the saplings are faring and admire the work of prior years whose saplings are now 6 – 8 feet tall. It is so rewarding to see a community come together, people of all ages, to ensure that there is a brighter future ahead. We’re excited to see the impact we will all have together this coming year.
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