From Tecún Umán to Nueva Alianza

Tecún Umán was the last ruler of the Quiché people, in the highlands of what is now Guatemala. Today he is a national symbol as he fought to protect his land and his people against Spanish Conquistador Don Pedro de Alvarado. In Comunidad Nueva Alianza, in the Guatemalan Boca Costa, Tecún stands for the struggle of the community for land and for workers rights.

For five generations the families of Nueva Alianza lived and worked on an estate owned by a landlord, who managed and remunerated their work in his coffee and macadamia plantations. By the end of the 1990s, the fall in the price of coffee exacerbated the debts collected by the landlord due to bad management of the estate. Not only was the land mortgaged, over time the landlord passed his debts over to the 40 families of the community: workers were not paid their salary for up to 18 months.

When the indebted landlord abandoned the estate in 2001, the families of Nueva Alianza obtained the legal management of the lands, however without owning them. Some structures were abandoned by the landlord and left unused in the estate, in various conditions: a coffee plant with operative machines, but in need of reparations; empty houses; a hydroelectric micro-power plant; and other goods for the supply of energy, such as electrical generators and a diesel engine. Lack of effective ownership of the land deprived the community of any financial resources and impeded any investment in the maintenance, let alone repairing, of the infrastructures in the community. Therefore, the estate was left without a source of energy to continue with the production of coffee and macadamia, nor with the supply of energy for household consumption.

Tired of the previous exploitation and of the current situation, the families of Nueva Alianza got organised in the Sindicato de Trabajadores Independients (trade union of independent workers) and peacefully occupied the lands of the community in 2002. They saw this as the only means available for obtaining the effective ownership of the estate. Despite many bureaucratic obstacles, the community eventually entered negotiations for the acquisition of land, in 2003, and purchased the estate thanks to the loan of Fondo de Tierra (Land Fund, set up after the signing of the peace accords in 1996 to manage the return of the land stolen to workers, ex-guerrillas and repatriated refugees), in 2004.

Clear, renewable and inexpensive energy

Already before the purchase of the estate, the community obtained the financial support of the UNDP Small Grants Programme to NGOs (SGP) for the development of a project involving the rehabilitation of the abandoned hydroelectric micro-power plant for the generation of clear, renewable and affordable energy by exploiting the potential energy of dammed water channelled in a turbine and a generator. The energy produced would supply agro-industrial activities as well as household consumption. In particular, the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric micro-power plant aimed to substitute for the previous use of fuels, which caused acoustic and environmental pollution. Two electrical generators with capacity for eight kilowatts each were set up in the micro-central hydroelectric, so that their use could be adapted to the varying amount of water in summertime and wintertime: in the winter season, when heavy rains swell the waters of the river, both generators are used; as the water supply decreases with the beginning of summertime, only one generator is employed and its energy supply is compensated with the use of a diesel engine. All the aims of the projects were successfully achieved. Now half of the energy is used for the processing of macadamia nuts and coffee, half for supplying electricity to the households of the community for three hours a day.

Getting organised, democratically

The entire community got involved in the project and is now efficiently organised to run the hydroelectric micro-power plant independently of any external help. During the development of the project the Sindicato set up three committees for the running, maintenance and administration of the hydroelectric system. Of these, the last two committees are formed by women. Thus women are responsible and accountable for the management of the bank account, for the reading of electricity meters, for collecting a monthly fee from each beneficiary as well as for the maintenance of electric installations. This participatory involvement of women is admirable as it goes against a deep-rooted culture of machismo in the country, which usually cuts women off any partaking in economic and social affairs.

The men of the community are involved in other tasks, such as the running of the hydroelectric centre. Each man has to fulfil this duty for one day every 20 days. In particular, this task involves constantly tuning the intake of dammed water into the turbine of the generator according to the amount of electric appliances switched on or off in the households, so as to ensure a constant supply of energy. During a shift in the hydroelectric centre (where the noise of the generator was almost deafening) we asked two men whether they found demanding to fulfil this task, and they answered: “each night we enjoy three hours of electricity, so I am happy to play my part to ensure this service to our community.”

Moving forward

Having fully accomplished the project financed by the SGP, the Sindicato put the water of the river and the energy of the hydroelectric plant to other uses. First, water and energy are used for the production of purified water, bottled and sold in surrounding towns. Second, electricity supplies the eco-tourist hotel that the community built by restoring and adapting the house of the landlord. Throughout the year this hotel hosts people from all over the world who travel to the community to visit or to volunteer for a few weeks after having heard of Nueva Alianza on the website www.comunidadnuevaalianza.org . This website was set up by the Sindicato, who bought computers and signed up to satellite internet connection, thus channelling the use of energy to a third use. Moreover, and fourth, owing to the energy supply, one hour of computer course is offered daily to the young ones of the community. Fifth, thanks to the cooperation of two engineers, Nueva Alianza now produces bio-diesel by recycling oils from kitchens and restaurants of the nearby city Retalhuleu as well as one ton of oil a week recycled from an entertainment park. Bio-diesel allows using fewer chemicals for the functioning of the diesel engine of the community, thus reducing air pollution. Also, bio-diesel provides a supply of energy when the micro hydroelectric centre cannot be employed in case of water shortage or natural disasters.

The community continues seeking ways to make the most of its natural resources to benefit the community. The shells of macadamia nuts and coffee are used as organic fertilisers for the growth of the same products. Meanwhile the Sindicato is gathering information about how to obtain certification that its coffee and macadamia are organic, with the aim of eventually selling its products abroad. The community is seeking, furthermore, to form an association in order to develop in the commercialisation of its products, while continuing with the activity of the Sindicato in order to always guarantee the rights of workers.

All profits raised by the community are divided amongst the community members, used to improve health, education and living conditions as well as to repay the loan of the Fondo de Tierra. As of today, one third of the loan has been repaid.

The development of Nueva Alianza is recognised nationally and internationally as a success story. Comunidad Nueva Alianza is, indeed, a unique example of how to take advantage of natural resources ecologically for the sake of an efficient and democratic local development.

* Marta Messa (UWCAd 01-03) worked as a volunteer for the UNDP Small Grants Programme in Guatemala.  She holds a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Warwick and is currently reading an MA in Economics and Politics at Universität Freiburg, Germany.