Guatemala “Fair” Trade Alternative Spring Break
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“FAIR” TRADE ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK 2012
PROGRAM DATES: FEB 18 – FEB 26
PROGRAM FEE: $1,299
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
- Discuss the reality of “fair” trade while farming coffee with NGO ‘As Green as it Gets’
- Learn about the ecological, health and socio-economic impacts of Canadian mining companies in San Marcos
- Take a midnight hike to the peak of Volcan Santa Maria and watch the epic Guatemalan sunrise
- Hear the stories of farmers who fought as guerrillas during Guatemala’s bloody civil war
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GUATEMALA… THE WAY WE SEE IT
It took a trip all the way to Guatemala to realize that Guatemalans don’t even drink coffee. Well, Nescafe instant doesn’t count as coffee in my mind. But it really is shocking that the country ranked 2nd in high-grade coffee production globally barely consumes the product itself. Such is the essence of the Guatemalan paradox: a coffee producer that doesn’t drink coffee, a natural landscape being pillaged by foreign mining companies for profit and a predominantly indigenous population governed by wealthy elite of white European ancestry.
Nestled in Central America, Guatemala has one of the most interesting yet tragic histories. Home to the Mayan civilization, invaded by the Spanish and eventually ruled by successive dictatorships propped up by the United Fruit Company, Guatemala has had its fair share of political strife. A 30-year civil war helped create “liberation theology” but left many scars to this day.
In Guatemala, you will learn that being called “gringo” isn’t usually a bad thing, that eating fried chicken is a national obsession, reggaeton is the greatest genre of music ever created and that the term “chicken bus” doesn’t necessarily involve chickens but will involve far too many people in old school buses.
To travel to Guatemala is to challenge yourself, both physically by climbing mountains and volcanoes, and mentally, by meeting farmers who blame the coffee and mining industries for their poverty. It is shocking, empowering, exciting and challenging all in one beautiful country.
“FAIR” TRADE SAMPLE ITINERARY
*This itinerary is based on our previous experience with the region. Programs change every year based on the needs of our partners. This should give you a sense of what our program may look like.
Day 1
Fly from Toronto and arrive in Guatemala City for an OG style Orientation. Get acclimatized to the sights, sounds, smells and smiles of the region while getting a crash course in Spanish and Guatemalan culture.
Day 2-3
Time to get your hands dirty! The meat of the trip starts with a 2 day volunteering stint with “As Green as It Gets,” (AGAIG) a sustainable agricultural cooperative based in San Miguel Escobar (15 min outside of Antigua). AGAIG, founder Franklin Voorhes will take us on a guided tour of everything coffee, its economics, its markets, its exploitative history, and the truth behind “fair trade”. Additionally, we will work on the slopes of Volcán Agua along-side local campesinos (farmers) while developing a better understanding of coffee production and basking in the Guatemalan sun. We will also have the chance to volunteer with an up- start initiative within the community which makes cosmetics from local natural materials.
Day 4-5
From there, we will journey to the Guatemalan Highlands and the com-munity of Santa Anita La Union, Quetzaltenango, a coffee cooperative run by ex-combatants in the country’s 36 year civil war. These guerillas turned farmers perceive coffee differently, not only is it an exportable commodity but a symbol of revolutionary solidarity.
Day 6
OGG will travel to the Department of San Marcos to hear about and observe first hand mining development in Guatemala’s Highlands. Accordingly, we will visit the Marlin Mine, run by Canadian corporate giant GoldCorp and meet local activists from the Asociación de Desarollo Integral de San Miguel Ixtahuacan (ADISMI) before visiting the communities most affected by the good and bad of open-pit gold mining.
Day 7
No trip to Guatemala is complete without a volcano climb, so the group will join Quetzaltrekkers, a not-for-profit guiding company, for an epic midnight hike of Volcán Santa María (3800mt) .
Day 8
Return to Guatemala City and fly home
HEALTH & SAFETY
Health, safety, and security are of the utmost importance to Operation Groundswell. We take every possible step to keep our groups safe and secure throughout the program. With that in mind, it is important to remember that every OG trip prides itself on taking participants directly into the experience of living in that region. We DO take public transportation, we DO meet real people, and we DO experience real life. OG and its Guatemalan partners are familiar with these realities and their risks. Trip Leaders are trained in wilderness first-aid, proficient in Spanish, and have undertaken the trips before group arrivals to ensure that all of the people and places to be visited are safe and secure. OG also maintains near constant communication with its headquarters, its partners, local contacts, and in-country officials. To help mitigate health risks, Operation Groundswell expects every trip participant to meet with a travel doctor before leaving their country of origin. They must be up-to-date with all necessary vaccinations and equipped with any necessary medications for travel in-country.
