Political Scientist Makes a Difference in Chimaltenango, Guatemala

CNN has a great story on Anne Hallum and her work in Guatemala. Hallum is a political scientist from Stetson University in Florida who has spent the last two decades improving the lives of the people of Chimaltenango and rural Guatemala.

Hallum co-founded the Alliance for International Reforestation, a nonprofit whose mission is to help villagers protect themselves from deadly mudslides. Since 1992, the organization has helped has helped 110 rural villages plant more than 3.8 million trees.

"Deforestation -- or the absence of trees -- causes mudslides to occur...Trees are cut for firewood and to make room for the crops, and without realizing it ... they've taken away their protection. Where it used to be rainforest becomes an open space for the mud to come right on through."

"With the help of a former student, she researched rural resources and learned that many local Guatemalan tree varieties could be strategically replanted to provide fruit, fertilizer, coffee, food and medicinal herbs where resources were failing or nonexistent...

"When we started, it was all about fighting poverty," Hallum said. "We wanted to help families farm better and feed their children better. But we started to notice that in the areas where (pine) trees were planted, the mudslides were no longer occurring. So that brought a new focus for us. Food, shade, fertilizer and mudslide protection -- the trees can do it all."...

Local Guatemalan staff -- all trained agroforestry technicians -- are assigned six villages each and provide free weekly instructional courses on topics like tree planting, sustainable farming and air quality. Each technician remains in his or her assigned communities for five years. Hallum credits her group's success to this commitment of staying within a community until the community itself can see and reap benefits.

"It's a lot of work," Hallum said. "We don't come in, plant some trees and leave. We do that, and they'll cut them down. It's a step-by-step process that starts with education. In a little time, they notice their crops are doing better; mudslides aren't happening. And the behavior changes: They start to protect the trees. We say: 'All right, you've got it. You know how to do this now.' Then we leave ... on to the next village."

 
 
In addition to providing agricultural classes and planting trees, Hallum and her team donate and install ecofriendly and safe fuel-efficient cooking stoves to families based on economic need. You can see a brief clip on CNN's website as well. 
 
Inspiring stuff. Definitely beats political scientists in The Onion.