For a period of three years, Proyecto Buena Semilla (the Good Seed Project, in English) has been dedicated to empowering women in Mayan communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Through entrepreneurial activities, problem-based therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and art-based activities, the women learn to face the hardships of child pregnancy, domestic violence, and other restrictions to their economic participation given the marginalized conditions of their communities.

The project was awarded a second year of funding from the Martín-Baró Fund to continue the series of workshops and psychological activities circles that focus on women’s leadership development and mental and maternal health. For 2017, the project was able to compensate 12 women leaders for their facilitation of Women’s Circles in their communities. They created spaces of encounter and dialogue where marginalized, indigenous women engaged in problem-solving therapy and empowered themselves to become agents of change in their lives and communities.

Proyecto Buena Semilla plans to extend their workshops to the women of San Juan Ostuncalco, a community that is currently not supported with funding. The project also plans to continue to support the Women’s Circle workshops in Quetzaltenango, the original site of the project, and strengthen the activities offered by providing further training and stipends for the leaders. Lastly, they hope to organize site visits around the community to foster knowledge transfer and exchanges between individuals who have been leaders of Women’s Circles since 2014 to the individuals assuming leadership in Cuilco, Huehuetenango.