The Maya Traditions Model

An example of a small NGO working specifically with the Maya and practicing the sustainable livelihoods model while accepting the diversity of the population is The Maya Traditions Foundation. This foundation works with Mayan women, specifically, to empower them and to give them economic activities that are still related to their indigenous identities and linked to national and international markets (Maya Traditions Website). These economic activities involve traditional art and weaving. This NGO is a smaller NGO, only working with about 100 artisans in Guatemala. This NGO says that it is participatory and respectful of indigenous identities, but there is no literature to substantiate these claims beyond their website. An example of a large NGO that has decentralized that works with the indigenous population is CARE. CARE has been present in Guatemala since the 50’s, and focuses on human rights development for women, namely, health, education, representation and economic development (Blum 2001) (CARE website). CARE used to have one central office in the capital city, but now has regional offices that work with smaller groups of people (blum 2001). A criticism of this model is that larger NGO’s that are forced to decentralize begin to act like businesses and corporations, ending the participatory aspect
Though the government has a decent relationship with NGO’s, there are still issues. …show more content…
While the discrimination towards the indigenous is rooted in colonialism, according to the literature, development efforts have not made significant strides towards autonomy for the Maya. According to Vanthuyne (2009), marginalization is apart of the daily identity of the Maya and is deep rooted and too complex to be easily eliminated, so it may not be an issue that NGOs and government can resolve