A sacred seed vault in Guatemala is aiming to help rural communities withstand climate change and commercialisation.
An umbrella group that supports almost 70 seed banks in the Central American country said funding from Irish Aid and training from Irish charity Trocaire was supporting their work.
Guatemala is experiencing hotter dry seasons and more destructive weather events as a result of climate change.
At agro-ecological gardens in Rabinal, there is hope that a bank of native seeds and other initiatives will help rural communities withstand more extreme conditions as well as patented, transgenic seeds produced by large companies.
In a small, bolted room of redbrick shelves and clay pots, Cristobal Osorio Sanchez explained how the organisation he founded distributes native seeds to other communities.
Sporting a sprig of peppermint behind his ear, he said they have 50 varieties in the ‘House of Seeds’ as well as staple grains stored elsewhere.
Cristobal Osorio Sanchez with peppermint behind his ear to help ease a headache (Brian Lawless/PA)
“The seed is the main actor in our lives,” said Mr Osorio Sanchez, 69, the founder of Qachuu Aloom.
“The biggest problem we have in our country is the threat to our own seeds.
“We are here in defence of our native seeds because we see this is what produces food that can resist diseases.
A mix of different coloured corns – representing the sun, fire, night and life – used in a Mayan spiritual ceremony at Qachuu Aloom in rural Guatemala (Brian Lawless/PA)
“What is threatening us are patented seeds from companies. These transgenic seeds are threatening our native seeds and in that way, threatening our food security.
“These transgenic seeds also destroy the fertility of the land and that’s why they only use them in mono cropping. They also have to use chemical treatments alongside them or they don’t flourish, which kills microorganisms in the soil.
“It’s a very difficult struggle.”
Spiritual leaders Guadalupe de Paz (left) and Emilio Cuxun in the garden at Qachuu Aloom (Mother Earth) in Rabinal, in the Baja Verapaz region of Guatemala (Brian Lawless/PA)
The co-ordinator of the National Network for Food Security in Guatemala (Redsag), Davide Paredes, said help from Trocaire has been “really important” in supporting their advocacy work at the UN and Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
The group is made up of 66 grassroots organisations such as Qachuu Aloom whose aim is to protect food sovereignty, biodiversity and ancestral knowledge.
“For example, they have supported us in developing our training schools, which are aimed at young people in particular, which is very valuable to us because it means supporting the generations that will later have to assume these responsibilities, so training them is vital,” he said.