Carmelita: Located in the northern region of the country, and in the middle of the Peten, this village is home to El Mirador, one of the most beautiful Mayan sites in Central America. You can also enjoy a week long trek through the Reserve where you will be able to spot jaguars, birds, and be able to ride horses if you choose on your tour
Types of Concessions:
Xate (Image)
Chicle (Image)
Facts:
One of the very few sites granted community concessions where almost 100% of the land is protected from deforestation and tourism
Famous Attractions:
El Mirador
Many famous Mayan cities in nearby villages
Photo: Capstone Team Guatemala 2017
Located in the northern region, this community is quite small with only a few local inhabitants. Here you will find several homes, hotels, shops and some small restaurants.
The majority of the residents who live here work for the forest concessions where they extract chicle for chewing gum, as well as xate for palm plants.
Photo: Capstone Team 2017
You may also find locals in the field of ecotourism where they provide tours from Tikal to ancient sites of El Mirador, La Muerta, Tintal or La Florida. The locals lead these tours of the area where they provide local expertise and knowledge of the Reserve. These tours last anywhere from 5-6 days to 8-10 days. These tours are self sufficient and the money coming in provides individuals a chance for a strong livelihood as well as a positive social benefit from business growth.
Capstone Team 2017
Tour guide information
The individuals who work for this group are bilingual in Spanish and English, and are granted the rights to run community concessions, with certifications from the Forest Stewardship Council and Rainforest Alliance who train the locals to work in the field and to handle the tools. The community itself is responsible for the protection, management, and conservation of the total natural forest.
Each concession is awarded a 25 year contract and can be renewed. Carmelita was recently awarded a new contract for another 25 years and with the updated stipulations, both the women and youth are participating more in the development of these concessions. Each year, the Carmelita Cooperative generates an average of 20,500 wages which exceed the minimum wage in Guatemala.
Photo Credit: Megan Butler
For more information, click below
The people here are very grateful and don’t ask for much in return. All they want is for their work to thrive and for the income to be regenerated back to their communities, and most importantly to their native land to be taken care of, so they are able to continue doing what they love.
Tours
Originally written by Katrina Becker, Cody Rassch, Franklin Zumba-Deleg
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