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This project will establish a women-led native-plant macrotunnel nursery in Palestina, San
Juan La Laquna (Lake Atitlán watershed), to restore the degraded Paquib-Palestina
microwatershed that feeds the community's drinking-water springs, while creating a sustainable
source of income for 12 indigenous Tz'utuiil women.
The nursery will produce native forest species, medicinal plants, and natural dye plants for reforestation and commercial sale, runday-to-day by a locally hired Tz'utujil agroforestry technician under Wellkind's technical supervision.
Specific goals are:
. Restore and protect the Paquib-Palestina microwatershed through reforestation with
native species,improving water retention near the community's drinking-water springs.
• Strengthen community capacity to sustainably manage natural resources, through hands-on training in agroforestry and native-plant nursery management for a women-led cooperative.
• Improve community knowledge and behaviors related to environmental management, sustainable land use, and watershed protection.
• Build long-term, income-generating capacity for environmental stewardship by training women in nursery management and business skills, so that conservation work is self-sustaining once the grant ends.
• Increase ecological connectivity in the landscape by planting native forest and fruit trees that connect fragmented forest areas.
• Produce and distribute 15,000+ native trees and 5,000+ supporting plants (medicinal, dye, and fruit) for reforestation and agroforestry in Palestina and Panyebar.
Deforestation in the San Juan La Laguna area, in the Lake Atitlán watershed, has degraded the microwatershed that feeds the community's drinking-water springs, causing soil erosion and declining agricultural yields, while indigenous Tz'utujil women in Palestina and Panyebar have few local income opportunities, despite holding valuable traditional knowledge of native and medicinal plants.
At the request of the Rotarians, Wellkind conducted a preliminary community assessment in May 2026, meeting with COCODE leaders and women from Palestina and Panyebar, who identified watershed degradation and the lack of income opportunities for women as connected priorities. A deeper, more participatory community assessment is planned for November 2026, once the project scope is confirmed.
Women from Palestina and Panyebar proposed combining reforestation with income generation from medicinal and dye plants, drawing on their own traditional plant knowledge. The COCODEs identified priority reforestation areas, including land near the community's drinking-water springs.
Community assemblies and meetings with the COCODEs and women's groups shaped the project design. Women will continue co-designing the nursery's governance model, species selection, and training priorities throughout implementation, and will help confirm the final site selection for the macrotunnel during the November 2026 assessment.
Funds will be used to build a macrotunnel and purchase the initial trees.
A significant portion of the funds will be used to provide training ensuring that the women have the skills required to maintain the nurserv and to increase community awareness.
Host Rotarians will manage the finances and visit the project site as required.
International Rotarians will raise the required funds, work with host partners to write the grant application and they plan to visit the proiect in earlv 2027.
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