The Actors of Change Collective, founded in 2009 in Guatemala, works to empower Mayan women faced with sexist, racist, and classist violence to regain their autonomy and live a fuller life. The methodology of their most recent project, titled “Healing Action for the Recovery of Powers and Lives for the Construction of Territories Free of Sexual Violence,” consists of a series of healing training processes with leaders of local women’s organizations including Colectivo Poder y Desarrollo, Local CPDL and more. The networks developed have continuously put women’s lives at the center, thus building supportive communities free of sexual violence and grounded in restorative and healing justice.

The Actors of Change Collective will continue to elaborate on their collaborative strategies of action between diverse local, regional, national, and international levels to expand their reach to more women. Their previous projects have been met with success in creating safe, intergenerational communities of action to empower women to take ownership of their voices. Women from the Mayan networks have also reported an increase in agro-ecological activities, including improved ancestral knowledge for organic cultivation and sustained vegetable and medicinal plant gardens, despite being faced with challenges of water scarcity. Moving forward, Colectiva Actoras de Cambio will continue to implement training grounded in relationship-building healing strategies in order to foster communities of autonomous women affected by sexual violence and racialized gendered violence.