A Day in the Life of a Mayan Village
Indigenous Community-Based Tourism in Guatemala
Article and photos by Volker
Poelzl
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Canoes are an important means
of transportation for many Mayans. |
Guatemala is among Central America’s
most popular travel destinations. About a million tourists
flock to the small country each year to visit Mayan ruins,
colonial towns, and of course the colorful Mayan markets,
which are among the highlights of any visit to Guatemala.
Although many visitors admire and purchase Mayan handicrafts
and textiles, listen to marimba bands, and photograph colorful
market scenes, very few travelers venture a step further
to actually visit Mayan villages and learn about the culture
and way of life of the Mayan people. To offer an alternative
to the main tourist trail that leads from Antigua, to Lake
Atitlán and the famous Chichicastenango market, several
NGOs are promoting stays in Mayan villages all across Guatemala.
These visits give travelers the unique opportunity to go
beneath the surface and experience the culture and way of
life of the Mayan people. In some areas the local NGOs also
collaborate with aid organizations, giving visitors the
opportunity to do volunteer work while they stay at a village
or with a Mayan family.
What to Expect
Most of the NGOs offering cultural immersion
programs operate in little visited areas in Guatemala and
work with small communities. Experiencing the way of life
of the local people is one of the main attractions of these
programs, in addition to exploring Guatemala’s fascinating
ecosystems, such as cloud forests, remote mountain valleys,
dense rainforests, and mangrove-lined lagoons. Staying with
a local family or at a village guesthouse is a great experience,
but visitors should be aware of local conditions before
going into remote areas.
Road conditions to remote villages are
usually poor, and you will travel at least part of the way
on dirt roads. Expect to spend several hours in a small
and crowded minivan, together with other villagers, their
children, chickens, and produce. Not all villages have electricity
and connections to the outside world are often difficult.
There may only be one telephone in the village, and in smaller
communities there is only one daily bus or van back to town.
Visitors stay at a village guesthouse
or in the hut of a local family, enjoy their meals with
their hosts, and are offered a variety of activities, such
as cultural events and excursions to the nearby natural
attractions. You may also be able to accompany your hosts
on their daily work routines, such as visiting agricultural
plots or going fishing. Village guests are encouraged to
sample traditional foods, but since the villages are poor,
you will most likely be served simple meals. In addition
to huge piles of corn tortillas, the main staple food of
the Mayans, my host family in a small jungle village in
the Verapaces region served eggs, chicken, pasta, and beans,
which was a simple but varied enough menu plan to keep me
well fed for a few days. In case bottled water is not available,
it is a good idea to bring a water filter or purification
tablets. Also, bring all the extra food and drink you would
like to consume during your stay. Some basic items and soft
drinks may be available at village stores, but you should
not count on it. If you are bringing snacks or sweets, keep
the village children in mind and buy a little extra to share.
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My host family's hut in the northern
Guatemalan rain forest. |
Village guesthouses are more comfortable
and better equipped, and they offer more privacy than staying
in a hut with a host family. If privacy and creature comforts
are important issues for you, you might want to consider
a village stay, where you can have your own private room
at a community guesthouse. Bedding may not always be up
to Western standards, and it might be a good idea to bring
a camping mattress and/or sleeping bag if you can. Do not
expect private bathrooms or showers when staying in a hut
with a local family. Most villagers bathe in the nearest
creek, which is always a great place for socializing in
the late afternoon, when people take their bath after a
day’s work in the fields. There are usually outhouses
shared by several families. In villages without electricity,
candles provide the only lighting after dark, and families
go to bed very early. Bring a flashlight and a lantern if
you plan to stay up late.
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Many villages that host guest
have nearby natural attractions. |
Keep in mind that you are a guest of
the village and of your host family, and not just a tourist.
A low-cost stay in a Mayan village should not be regarded
as a cheap alternative to hotel accommodation. Spending
a few days in a remote indigenous community is very different
from staying at a guesthouse or hotel. Staying in a Mayan
village is a great opportunity to accompany the villagers
or your host family on their daily activities and learn
about their livelihoods, food, and family life. You will
be part of the family life, and you will stay in the common
areas with your host family and have little privacy. My
travel companion and I shared a large thatched hut with
the rest of the family during the night. Expect your host’s
children to accompany you wherever you go. Your visit is
a welcome change in routine for them, and they will be especially
attentive if you speak some Spanish and are willing to play
soccer with them.
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Soccer is the favorite game of
many Mayan children. |
The Benefits of your Visit
Many of the village stay programs are
located in areas of new settlements, mostly by Mayan people
of different ethnic background who were displaced by fighting
during the civil war. These families fled their home communities
and moved to remote mountain and jungle areas to start a
new life. Many of these villages are less than 20 years
old and receive very little government aid for infrastructure
and development. The forests, rivers and lakes are the main
source of income and livelihood, and growing deforestation,
over-hunting, and over-fishing are having an irreversible
impact on the fragile local ecosystems. In some regions
the local village communities are paid by the national parks
administration to maintain and protect small forest reserves
that act as a buffer zone to adjacent national parks. This
stewardship program is one of the few sources of income
for many communities, in addition to small lots of crash
crops such as cardamom, corn, and beans. Although the small
number of foreign visitors does not have a significant impact
on the local economy, they still make a positive contribution
to the preservation of the natural environment through their
visit. Hikes and excursions to natural wonders are among
the main attractions of many community tourism projects,
and your visit encourages the continued protection and sustainable
use of the local ecosystem. Staying at the village is therefore
not only a great cultural experience, but it also gives
the locals further incentive to protect their ecological
treasures that attract visitors and bring income to the
community.
Where to Go
To experience the Mayan culture and
way of life, travelers need to be prepared to leave the
Gringo trail and venture into remote and little visited
regions of Guatemala. Although access is often time-consuming
and difficult, visitors will be rewarded with a rich experience
of the diverse ethnic groups that make up Guatemala’s
Mayan population. Below I have listed several regions in
Guatemala where NGOs help native villages with community
tourism projects.
The Cuchumatán Mountains
I have found the Cuchumatán Mountains
to be one of the most fascinating regions in Guatemala to
experience local Mayan life. The imposing mountain range
stretches across northern central Guatemala and is home
to many small towns and communities, where visitors can
get a first-hand experience of daily life of the local population
and their culture. This area was strongly affected by the
Guatemalan civil war, when many villagers were displaced
by the fighting between the Guatemalan army and guerilla
groups. Life is slowly returning to normal, but the remote
mountain communities are economically underdeveloped and
lack many services. The town of Nebaj is a great base from
where to organize a stay in a local village.
The Verapaces Region
The Verapaces region is situated in
northern Guatemala, in a transitional zone between the Guatemalan
highlands and the low-lying plain of the Yucatán
Peninsula. It is equally divided between mountains covered
in cloud forest and low-lying rainforest to the north, offering
visitors a fascinating and diverse ecosystem that is both
home to rare fauna and flora, such as the rare and endangered
Quetzal, Guatemala’s national bird, as well as numerous
indigenous Mayan communities. Cobán is the region’s
capital, a pleasant town surrounded by coffee plantations.
It is here where visitors can make arrangements for a cultural
immersion experience in local Mayan communities.
The Rain Forest of Petén
Petén, Guatemala’s northernmost
department, is a low plain at the southern tip of the Yucatán
Peninsula. It is covered with dense rain forest and is a
sparsely populated region. Besides tourism to the famous
Mayan ruins of Tikal, there is little tourism development
and infrastructure. Several NGOs and community projects
offer stays in Mayan villages to experience the local culture,
visit remote Mayan ruins, and explore the region’s
rich fauna and flora.
The Rio Dulce/Golfete Region
The Rio Dulce drains Eastern Guatemala
and reaches the Caribbean sea near the town of Livingston.
As many other parts of Guatemala, the banks of the Rio Dulce,
which are part of a national park, have been settled by
Mayans who fled the violence of the civil war in their home
communities. Most of these settlements are illegal, and
government services are therefore mostly absent. To help
these newly established communities, several NGOs and community
projects have begun to develop a basic infrastructure to
attract socially and environmentally responsible travelers.
Several villages offer homestays and stays at community
guesthouses, as well as guided tours to explore the region’s
rich ecosystem.
Volker
Poelzl is a Living Abroad Contributing
Editor for TransitionsAbroad.com. During his
recent trip to Guatemala he visited a number of indigenous
communities all over the country.
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