This is a cooperative made up of 16 small Maya Associations in the southwestern part of Guatemala. 70% of its members are rural women. They produce a wide range of products from vegetable and chilies to medicinal ointments and soya flour. Founded in 2005, it promotes fair trade and solidarity while supporting its members’ production of honey, marmalades, shampoo, soap and textiles.

Kuchub’al has engaged in a wide variety of efforts to help their members. They produced a documentary film on fair trade and the coffee production chain featuring one of their associations with the aid of some film studies students. They also produced a product catalog of textile products using some of the producers as models to showcase the wares.

The great advantage offered by Kuchub’al is the diversity of crops being grown by members. They are spread out over many geographical areas that represent different elevations, soil types, terrain and climates. This allows for many different crops and trees to be successful. Maya Global anticipates that that Kuchub’al will produce an array of fruit and nut products based on traditional varieties. These have been staples of the Maya diet and culture for many generations. Dried fruits mixed with nuts in varied proportions will make several different healthy snack products.

These new products will join the already impressive list of products currently produced. Each of the small-scale producers is capable of and have a strong desire to expand their volume. Some particular items of interest, in addition to the food products, are their natural lotions, herbal creams and medicines. Claudia Avila is the Director of the cooperative and is very interested in exposing their members to a wider market.

This Sakapulas community has been extracting salt from the lands along the river in a time honored way since at least 1560. The salt is actually drawn from the earth by spreading special soil and wetting it. On productive days the salt can be baked several times until black. The black salt is thought to be tastier and is famed for its medicinal qualities in treating stomach and eye problems. Maya global is working to uncover more of the original salinos. A wall is needed to protect them from flooding.

Maya Black Salt is a robust-flavored salt, similar to France’s famous sel gris that gets its color from trace minerals. Additional sources of the salt have been identified. The Peten Lowlands Maya sites, the Pacific Lowlands, the Caribbean coast and the Salinas de los Nueve Cerros in the Chixoy river in the highlands of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala are all traditional locations that produced salt by various methods. In Alta Verapas the salt is obtained from a brine springs that flows black from a salt dome.  This site once produced an estimated 2,000 tons per year.

The ancient Maya population consumed large quantities of salt. They believed it was the heart of everything. It was required in their diet and it was also used as a preservative. Salt was frequently used for ritual and medicinal purposes and was a component of childbirth and death. The Maya today continue to produce Black Salt because of its cultural importance and they value its unique flavor as an enhancement in cooking versus other salts.

Maya Global 2012 goal is to help preserve this very important Maya ancient cultural tradition. We plan to fund and develop, with the San Mateo Ixtatán in Huehuetenango and Sacapulas in Quiché, the Maya Black Salt as an important product that will be in demand for its unique cooking and seasoning use.  There are problems at each site that prevent full production. Flooding has already been mentioned. Some of the original salinos require excavation. Protection from further flooding must be provided. This unique salt is a wonderful product that is distinctly Mayan. International demand can be established. It will be an economic and spiritual boost for the Maya to see the restoration of a flourishing salt industry.

SAAQ’ ACH’OODI NIMLA K’ALEB’AL (SANK)

This project benefits 33 indigenous communities in northern Alta Veraplaz. The Sechocho community association has 115 growers of Maya Red Cacao the key ingredient in award winning gourmet chocolate. The cacao price is set at the NYSE. Most farmers receive much less than this price though the red cacao is worth 50% more. This situation is typical for all of the growers in SANK’s network, not just those growing cacao.  While SANK is working to change this, an agreement with Maya Global would alter the entire equation by allowing the Maya to enter the retail marketplace and bypass the wholesalers.

SANK started in 1998 and now supports a wide range of activities that are aimed at long-term change. They are working with local authorities to promote interaction with the Maya and encourage their participation in the decision making to counteract the traditional exclusion and discrimination. They are promoting more community land ownership. They have also secured some funds to develop 12 to 30 different products that could utilize the red cacao.

They now have about 850 trees on over 250 acres. Over 75 of the trees are producing 50,000 pounds of cacao beans in the shell. They could expand production to an additional 250 acres once a global market is established. The key to this will be producing consumer products such as chocolate bars and cocoa that allow them to use their cacao as the main ingredient. Facilities to process those products will bring much-needed jobs to the region and greatly change the local economy.

SANK has other growers producing crops like sweet potatoes, yucca and a wide variety of fruits. Plans are in the works to combine these additional products in the efforts to produce more value added products.

Some of these products are:

• Maya Cacao ‘Gold’ (world’s #1 cacao and most beneficial antioxidant cocoa in the world) products – with various Maya nuts and fruits.
• Crunchy Maya Cacao ‘Gold’- 100% Cacao nibs naturally processed into a crunchy nut-like state, semi-sweet.
• Maya Cacao – Coban Chile (variety of Serrano) – Black Salt: seasoning and hot sauce condiments.

This organization of 1,200 small coffee growers represents 3 Maya Lake communities in the mountainous volcano region surrounding Lake Atitlan. Most of the growers walk over two hours carrying sacks of hand picked beans on their backs to the nearest dirt road for truck pickup. They are forced by economic conditions to sell their crop to the local wholesalers, called coyotes, who mix their beans with industrial grade ones grown in the lowlands.

The growers represent 21 department of Guatemala and 250 of them are currently certified as organic. The rest use the same methods, but have not filed the necessary paperwork.  They presently grow and wet process 50,000 pounds of green beans for export. They roast only 2,500 pounds for sale in the local markets. The beans are grown at high elevations giving them a much higher value that is often unrealized.

Growers are currently receiving around $250 dollars for 100 pounds of green coffee beans. Using the figures of 1,200 growers and annual production of 50,000 pounds, one can compute annual revenue of $105 per grower per year. That number can be radically increased by upping production and enlarging the percentage of roasted beans. With increased capital the harvest could be increased to 100,000 pounds in one year and be doubled again in years two and three. The current wholesale price of roasted beans in Guatemala is about $7. One can easily figure that if 200,000 pounds were produced and half of that were sold as roasted beans, then the annual revenue per grower would increase to $688. That would have a profound effect on each of the families involved and it would impact the entire area.

Maya Global is working now to investigate just what is needed to make the example above a reality. A budget is being created and plans are in the works. Of course, the results would be even greater if the coffee were to be sold at retail prices in the Maya Global marketplace. That is the beauty of Maya Global 2012. Giving people around the world the opportunity to help others by purchasing quality products created by Maya people.