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And this is the basis of resilience,” she adds.įor Suc, agronomy is a way to help her community thrive. “Over the centuries, our communities have had to adapt to change. Initiatives include restoring water harvesting and irrigation systems, as well as community infrastructure. Her inside knowledge of the culture helps ensure plans are made respecting community consultative and decision-making mechanisms. “We consult with the Elders, the community development committees, the women’s committees – we hear out every voice so that our projects reflect what the community actually needs and wants,” Suc explains. WFP is now helping people build back their livelihoods. People lost their farm animals, the fields were ravaged and infrastructure destroyed. In November 2020, hurricanes Eta and Iota pummelled Central America, leaving a trail of devastation in San Cristóbal too. “The consequences of climate change are hitting us really hard,” Suc says. The closeness of Indigenous peoples’ communities to the natural environment, on which their livelihoods depend, however, makes them particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. “There are laws to protect the environment now,” she says, “but we were doing that well before. Suc cites a traditional rule whereby the cutting of trees is limited to one every five years per family – or one per year in case someone is getting married and needs to build a house – and subject to permission from the community. “If maize is cultivated on its own, it will need fertilizers.”īased on a deep respect for – and symbiotic relationship with – nature, the Indigenous peoples’ cosmovisión, or view of the world, is also a key element in preserving the environment and using resources sustainably. For instance, the bean plants fix additional nitrogen in the soil, which has a fertilizing effect,” Suc explains. “People here have been doing this for millennia, and now we know there is a scientific basis for this. ‘Over the centuries, our communities have had to adapt to change.

This technique, otherwise known as intercropping, allows for greater yields. One good example is the traditional milpa system, which sees maize, beans and squash being sown together. We are giving a scientific name to things they already knew,” she says. “We are not giving communities new knowledge. With Suc’s help, WFP is supporting people in rediscovering and making the most of traditional practices. With poverty averaging at 79 percent among Guatemala’s Indigenous people – and 40 percent living in extreme poverty – communities have little or no access to technology and resources. Chemical fertilizers are also expensive, and the economic downturn has put them out of reach for many.Įighty percent of people in San Cristóbal are Indigenous – the majority speak Poqomchi’, but some of the 102 communities that make up the municipality speak other languages such as Q’echi’ and Achi. “This is only good in the short term, as over time it leads to soil degradation, which has a negative impact on yields,” Suc explains. Lured by the advertising of chemical products, Indigenous farmers have stopped using traditional methods.

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“Knowledge is passed on from generation to generation… but unfortunately some of it’s got lost”, says Suc, “for example, how to make use of natural fertilizers.”

‘There are laws to protect the environment now – but we were doing that well before’ She is a member of the Poqomchi’ community in San Cristóbal Verapaz and works to empower farmers to respond to the challenges of climate change – reviving and then harnessing traditional know-how. Yet the wealth of Indigenous knowledge is such that, were it courted, it could provide precious solutions to build resilience, food security and sustainability.ĭeborah Suc, an agronomist with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Guatemala, knows both sides of the equation well. On International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, World Food Programme agronomist Deborah Suc tells Simona Beltrami she’s lost her shyness for sticking up for others – and the environmentĪs record hunger sweeps the globe, Indigenous peoples’ communities – who’ve been marginalized and left behind throughout history – remain disproportionately affected by food insecurity and malnutrition.