Fulbright Research Project – Guatemala

In 2010, I was awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship to study the impact of participatory planning methods in rural region of Guatemala. I worked with a local NGO to conceptualize, plan and coordinate development projects for more than 1,000 households using the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. As part of this process, we facilitated community-led surveys, focus group discussions, informal interviews with various target groups (coffee farmers, women, youth, elderly, disabled, teachers, health workers etc) and public meetings. We also supported the community as they organized in order to make more strategic and democratic decisions about what they wanted for their community. Special attention was given to supporting the youth and women throughout this process.

Once the PRA process was complete, we designed a visual exposition to help simplify the capacity building workshop concepts such as health, agronomy, environmental conservation, human rights and technology. We also established project logistics for a computer-learning center/library, supported a group of women to form a bread making cooperative and started to coordinate initial stages for water infrastructure construction.

 Project Planning

Below is a photo gallery of the various community meetings that were held in the rural community. These meetings culminated in the selection of three projects that you community wanted and needed for their future development.

 Community Project Exposition

This photo gallery displays the final exposition of the three selected projects. We helped coordinate the youth to share the various ideas for the capacity building workshop topics as well as answer any project questions. As part of this process, we helped build confidence among the girls and boys by organizing various group speaking and trust building exercises.