By Cali Cordeau and Nellie Campbell
We started the morning with a really good breakfast, omelets, fruit, refried beans, fresh watermelon, and papaya juice. It felt like the kind of meal that sets the tone for a full day ahead.
After breakfast, we had a 30-minute lesson on the Cosmovision Maya dates. We learned how to figure out which day in the Mayan calendar we were born on. Today was 2 Q’anil represented by the seed. It was actually really interesting to hear what everyone’s birth day meant, the symbolism, the animals connected to each day, and how it all ties into personality and life purpose. There’s something grounding about seeing time through a completely different worldview.
Then we drove about 30 minutes down the mountain to Quixayá, which translates to “heart of water.” Even though it’s only about 30 km away, the climate shifts dramatically. Cool northern air meets warmer southern temperatures, creating a really diverse ecosystem. It was noticeably hotter, and the vegetation looked different and more diverse from where we’re staying.
Andreas gave us a tour of the aquaculture fish farm there. We saw tilapia and some koi fish, and he explained how the water system works. One of the most interesting things we learned was about watercress and a specific type of snail that lives alongside it. They function in symbiosis, the snail eats excess roots from the watercress, helping it grow properly. He described them as “till death do us part” because they’re always found together. Apparently, they even make soup here using both.
Watercress has a 40-day growing cycle. After it’s cut, it regenerates and grows again. They sell about 100 “clumps” for between 1-5 quetzales, which really shows how small-scale but steady the production is.
We also learned about a fast-growing aquatic plant that acts like a double-edged sword. It produces oxygen and supports the ecosystem, but if left unmanaged it can overtake the water and create swamp-like conditions. At the same time, it helps protect the tilapia from pizotes. Speaking of which, we met a pizote (a white-nosed coatis) which Arturo named Hector.
Another cool part was seeing how they transport water through pipes using the natural slope of the land. It’s such a simple but smart system, working with the landscape instead of against it.
After the tour, we swam in a freshwater pool. It was refreshing and honestly the perfect reset in the middle of the heat. We played a ball game and had music on in the background, it was a great group bonding opportunity!
Lunch was with a family who owns part of the land. They prepared tilapia, malanga paste, watercress salad, tortillas, and mango juice. Everything was fresh and straight from the area we had just learned about, which made it even more meaningful.
Later, we went to the Campesino Committee of the Highlands’ (CCDA) headquarters and had a session with their agrarian reform leader, Leocadio. He walked us through some of the history and political context. The CCDA is a human rights organization that was founded in 1982 and promotes the development of farmer and Indigenous communities in Guatemala to increase their standard of living through programs aimed at creating equality and at increasing participation in social, economic, cultural, and political processes. They advocate for the rights of the Indigenous communities against the advances of landowners on their ancestral territories and demanded better policies in favour of rural development.
We learned about Canada’s involvement with the CCDA and how connections were built between Guatemalan cooperatives and the Canadian coffee industry. The military accused the CCDA of being part of a revolutionary movement, which they used to justify targeting them. In 2024, 12 CCDA members were assassinated and 21 were arrested, while in 2025, six members of the CCDA were arrested. Even Leocadio himself still has one charge against him.
In 2025, some members received financial bonuses through a contract, but it didn’t address deeper structural issues around land ownership, so it wasn’t considered a real solution. A big part of the land conflict stems from unclear titles. Historically, Indigenous communities were given land because of their deep agricultural knowledge and productivity, but ownership lines were never clearly defined. That lack of clarity has fuelled disputes for generations.
We gave Leocadio and the CCDA our gift before heading back to IMAP. We had some extra time to go to the shops and try some desserts and buy some trinkets. For dinner, egg and veggie patties, potatoes, tortillas, red sauce, and chile verde. We ended the night with reflection, which always feels like the right way to close these long days.
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