Comite Campesino de Altiplano (CCDA)

Since 2000, the Guatemalan Comite Campesino de Altiplano (CCDA), or the Campesino Agricultural Committee of the Highlands, has been uniting campesinos ("subsistence farmers") of Mayan descent to fight poverty and oppression, in an effort to elevate their standard of living.

Under the umbrella of the CCDA, the Highland campesinos have acquired private lands where they grow their own blend of fair-trade, organic coffee. The proceeds from the export of their coffee, Cafe Justicia, is equitably distributed amongst the farmers, whith a portion re-invested in the communal projects of the CCDA.

Education in Action

In March, 2007, World Accord helped finance the purchase of building materials for the University of Ottawa affiliated Education in Action program, which, in collaboration with the CCDA, sent 16 Spanish language students to Guatemala to build 14 homes for campesino families.

The homes were built of cinder blocks, with wooden walls and window shutters, and corrugated aluminum panel roofs. The CCDA determined to which families the new homes would go to based on the following criteria:

• Willingness to participate in the construction of the house
• Willingness to participate in future resource generation projects with CCDA
• Degree of economic hardship
• Condition of current lodgings

Complementary to the construction project, the Education in Action program distributed medical supplies, toys, clothes, and personal hygiene products which were provided by the Not Just Tourists Ottawa organization.

The newly constructed homes provided security to the recipient families, as well as encouragement to the community to continue with their productive development. The participating students benefited by learning new construction skills, by putting into practice their language skills, and by being exposed to a different culture.

World Accord has committed to support the Education in Action program's 2008 expedition.