What is Building Communities about?
Building Communities is a volunteer-driven NGO founded in Denmark that has supported community-led projects in Guatemala since 2002, and in Sololá since 2016. We work with women-led collectives focused on organic gardening and reforestation.
What are some ways BC has supported these projects? For the “Vida y Esperanza” project, around 23,000 trees were purchased in the past 4 years by BC and planted by the women and volunteers. For the “Asociación Ixkoq’a” project, funds have been raised for fencing, seeds, and animals such as sheep and chickens.
We fundraise in several ways. About twice a month, BC volunteers run the bar at Union Kulturhuset concerts in Copenhagen, with all proceeds going directly to our projects. Donations can also be made through our website, as a one-time donation to Vida y Esperanza, a monthly donation to Ixkoq’a, or an annual contribution supporting all projects. We also partner with schools and cultural organizations to raise funds through shared events.
By supporting Building Communities, you help people in Guatemala carry out their own projects that directly benefit their communities. Learn more about who we are and how we work on our website (link in bio).
#sustainability #reforestation #organic
Vi er i den sidste uge af Ramadan, og vi er enormt taknemmelige for alle jer, der har støttet vores Ramadan-iftar kampagne. Sammen fik vi samlet ind til 244 varme måltider til børn i Gaza, som har mistet en eller begge forældre.
Hver eneste donation har været med til at give et varmt måltid, men også et øjeblik af omsorg og fællesskab i en svær tid.
“This small act of giving is a reminder that mercy, solidarity, and hope are still alive.”
Tak for jeres støtte, jeres hjerter og jeres vilje til at gøre en forskel.🌙🤍✌🏽
Opdatering på Ramadakurve⭐️
Kort inden Ramadan sendte vi sponsorbidrag afsted til de forældreløse børn, som deltager i vores program, Salam.
Knap 50 madkurve med basisvarer er nu blevet uddelt🧺
Tusind tak for at muliggøre dette arbejde🙏❤️
Tusind tak til alle der har hjulpet os med at dele, donere og sprede budskabet om vores iftar kampagne for Gaza🙏❤️
Sammen fik vi indsamlet til 244 måltider, som vil gå til børn der mistet en eller begge forældre i Gaza, samt deres familier.
Pengene er overført til vores samarbejdspartner, og vi ligger som altid en opdatering op, når selve uddelingen finder sted.
❤️🖤💚🤍✌🏽
Meet Maria, another member of the “Asociación Ixkoq’a” collective. She has worked in fields all of her life and has had her organic garden since 2019. She grows various crops such as turnips, chard, beetroot, onions and black nightshade. She sells some of the vegetables at a market in Sololá, which requires waking up at 3:30 AM. She also lives with her mother-in-law, Candelaria, who is another member of the collective.
One of the challenges she faces in her garden is the manual labor of tilling the soil, which is very exhausting for her. Thankfully, her son helps her with this, making it easier for her to do other gardening work such as sowing her seeds, which she saves from her own plants. Another challenge she faces is the very arid soil during the dry season, as very few of the plants can grow well.
Maria has a lot of chores to do around the house, such as preparing food for her family and cleaning, and she mentioned that having her own garden gives her freedom to do something on her own! 🌱
Tonight we will enjoy the music of Mambe & Rødderne at @unionkbh at 20:00 👌🏾
For every 5 kr raised in the Community bar we will plamt a tree with the cooperative, Vida y Esperanza, in Guatemala 🌱
Let's dance & plant trees 💚
Check out how Juana, Maria, and Estela start the seeds for the trees in the Vida y Esperanza project.
They use hot water to kill pathogens that could prevent the seeds from growing. Then place the seeds and cover them with soil, pine fascicles and water!
To donate to this project, you can navigate to our website via the link in our bio, donate through mobile pay (76972), or attend one of our fundraising concerts- there are two more this month this upcoming Friday 27/02 and Saturday 28/02 @unionkbh from 20-22:30!
#reforestation #guatemala #fundraising
Building Communities ønsker alle, der fejrer Ramadan, en glædelig og velsignet måned 🤍🌙
En måned fyldt med refleksion, næstekærlighed og spirituel heling af sjæl og sind ⭐️
🙏 Under de første to uger i ramadan vil vi samle ind til Iftarmåltider til familier og børn i Gaza. Et måltid bestående af ris og kylling koster 40kr.
Giv et Iftarmåltid ved at sende MobilePay 76972
Tak fordi I er med til at gøre en reel forskel for mennesker, der fortsat lever i en ekstrem og sårbar situation ❤️🖤💚🤍
Ramadan kareem & free Palestine 🫰🏽🇵🇸⁶
Thank you, Laura & Kavitha for managing the bar during @roughmusic_cph ❤️ We raised funds for 177 trees in Guatemala 💚
And you 🫵🏾 ... do you live in Copenhagen and want to help support a reforestation project in Guatemala?
We are looking for volunteers to run the community bar at Union for the “Winterjazz” (see second slide). There will be live music, good energy and you get dinner ;) !
All the money collected will be donated to Vida y Esperanza, a project led by three women in Sololá, Guatemala where they carefully tend and care for trees in their tree nursery. This year they aim to grow 15,000 of them and the goal of the fundraiser is to purchase a part of it, which will then be planted in neighboring forests by the women and local volunteers :)
DM us if you are interested in participating!
Another member of our “Meet the Women of Asociación Ixkoq’a” series! Maria has been a member of the collective for two years. During an interview with Kate and Lilas, she shared insights into the historic undervaluation of women in Guatemala and how she pushes against it.
“…before they did not value us as women. A woman does not work, she does not earn anything, she is only in the house, she is only for the kitchen… If the woman does not work, if she does not make the food, who is going to? That is valuable as well. So now we no longer allow ourselves to be treated as if we are not valuable. Because before, yes, the woman who does not study, who stays in the house, is only a woman. She earns nothing, she has no strength. That is what they still tell her. But it is not that, it is not that. We can also. I can, that is what I tell them, I can.”
Maria mentioned that having her own business allows her a degree of financial independence. For example, if her shoes or sweaters wear out, she can go buy new ones herself rather than asking her husband for money.
She also mentioned that a barrier for many women in the past was limited access to education, so their Spanish proficiency today is lower compared to men. This can create challenges in daily life- for instance, some women may struggle to communicate with a potential customer in a market if that person does not speak Kaqchikel (or a related language). For Maria, however, this is not an issue: she fought for the opportunity to study and therefore, was able to learn Spanish.
At the same time, she emphasized that while learning globalized languages is important, young people should also continue learning Kaqchikel. “It is our mother tongue… we should not lose this.”
Maria’s reflections highlight the importance of dignity and resistance as a woman living in a society that, like in many others, has had long-standing gender inequality. She finished the interview by saying: “Yes that’s what I say, and I hope you continue to fight for life.”
We are participating in multiple events in February at @unionkbh in Copenhagen to raise funds to purchase some of the trees that Vida y Esperanza is planting in their tree nursery in Sololá, Guatemala. They will then be planted during the rainy season (May-October) by the women of Vida y Esperanza and local volunteers in neighboring forests.
The concerts where we will be attending our Communitybar is in February on the 13th, 14th, 19th, 27th and 28th from 20:00-22:30. Make sure to come by if you are in Copenhagen! We are also still looking for volunteers to help at the bar (see previous post).
Do you live in Copenhagen and want to help support a reforestation project in Guatemala?
We are currently looking for volunteers to run the community bar @unionkbh for our “Winterjazz” nights on multiple dates in February (see flyer). There will be live music, good energy and you get dinner ;) !
All the money collected will be donated to Vida y Esperanza, a project led by three women in Sololá, Guatemala where they carefully tend and care for trees in their tree nursery. This year they aim to grow 15,000 of them and the goal of the fundraiser is to purchase a part of it, which will then be planted in neighboring forests by the women and local volunteers :)
DM us if you are interested in participating!
#volunteer #ngowork #reforestation
