The areas of Huhuetenango, El Quiché and the northern zone of Totonicapán were severely affected by the internal armed conflict in Guatemala, leaving thousands of people to deal, both directly and indirectly, with the aftereffects of a systematic practice of human rights abuses. In addition to the long term physical and psychological effects of torture, many survivors have lost their housing, land, livestock and household belongings, and today find themselves living in poverty. Many families are experiencing difficulty in obtaining housing given the struggles of their personal rehabilitation and the challenges of reintegration into society. With governmental and private housing too expensive and involving too much bureaucracy, a greener, participatory model offers families decent and economically viable housing that also respects the surrounding environment, which is especially important for communities that depend on agriculture.

Summary

Heartland Alliance has collaborated with the Asociacion para la Salud y el Desarollo Integral de Momostenango (ASDIM) in a project to build 50 environmentally-friendly housing units for economically disadvantaged households affected by the legacy of political violence and torture in the Guatemalan communities of Momostenango, Santa Maria Chiquimula and Santa Lucia la Reforma. The housing units contain fuel-efficient wood stoves, fertilizer-producing latrines, and systems to collect residual water, and offer families private, sanitary and dignified living conditions. By involving community members directly in the construction process, the project is able to provide training in professional skills and to support the rehabilitation process of survivors of human rights abuses by creating activities that bolster their self esteem and contribute to community building, while at the same time working towards the preservation of the environment.

Activities

To support the building of green housing units for survivors of human rights violations in Guatemala, this project is:

• Selecting housing committee members and board members from the communities involved;
• Designating workers, two from each family, for each community's work brigade;
• Providing training in construction trades for workers of the brigades;
• Providing oversight in the construction process of each housing unit over the course of their one-month building completion time.