Reclaiming Indigenous Ways:
Ditching computer education to return to Sacred Balance between the Cosmos, Mother Earth and its People
San Pedro La Laguna, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
As the adoptive mother of a Mayan boy, and having lived in the country three times over the past two decades, Guatemala holds a very special place in my heart! We spent a couple of winters during Mateo’s kindergarten years living on Lake Atitlán, one of the most stunningly beautiful places I have had the pleasure of spending a lot of time in. It is a sacred place that holds great energetic power especially to the Mayan people living around this volcanic craterlake, situated a mile above sealevel and with three towering volcanoes by its’ shores.
I sat down this morning to catch up with my friend Juan-Manuel in one of the lake communities - San Pedro La Laguna - or as it is known in its original name Tz'unun. I wanted to hear his update about the current state of Lake Atitlán, the people in his community, and how his not for profit organization Taa’pi’t is doing in these economically very challenging times.
We also chatted about the importnace of the recent visit of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, and what the future of intercultural field studies holds. More about the field studies in part three of this series. This article is a transcription in parts, all to be published in CCJ’s New Moon News blog series about indigenous wisdom, educational / intercultural and travel related topics in these challenging times.
This is s summary of our conversation. The transcription has been translated from Spanish.
CCJ: Tell me a little bit about yourself, who you are, where you are and what you do in your community?
J-M: I am the co-founder and director of the Taa’Pi’t Intercultural Education Center. This is a Mayan community-based organization focused on after-school education rooted in our ancestral Mayan culture.
We have three main areas of education: Nutrition, Mayan worldview, and Focus on Mother Earth through our garden programs. We engage actively with the community, making an impact through cultural and environmental projects. Taa’Pi’t was legally established in 2006, though we started preparations a year earlier. Personally, I had been preparing for almost four years before that. Next year in February, we celebrate 20 years as a legal organization!
CCJ: Wow! Cross Cultural Journeys is just over 30 years old, so together we have 50 years of experience :)! So how did it begin? What started it all?
J-M: The main issue that gave birth to Taa’pi’t was education.We began with an after school program called Child Computer Literacy when there were no computers in San Pedro at that time.
Only tourists had access to one internet café. We also promoted reading and developed a virtual library. We had the technology, but we also wanted to implement and educate about our culture. Since 2000, we also worked on cultural activities. Environmental education was formally added after the cyanobacteria bloom in the lake in 2009. We follow an oral tradition and created our own curriculum by interviewing elders about their relationship with the lake, which we call Mother Lake. This inspired a new course: Mother Nature, Mother Lake.
Over time, as technology became more invasive and destructive to children especially, we stopped using computers and shifted fully to life education in three areas:
Child nutrition
Mayan worldview
Environmental awareness
We also launched the Wi’xa-K’aylala program, based in our language. It combines the ideas of Individual, Mother Earth, and the Universe — forming a Sacred Balance.
A key area is nutrition. Guatemala faces high child malnutrition, so we run workshops for mothers, including a six-month course. Over 500 mothers have participated. Our vision is to inspire people in the lake basin to understand that their health is connected to the health of the lake, the soil, and the seeds. In our culture, cooking is part of agriculture, and agriculture is spiritual.
Today, we are a mature, energetic organization with a lot of community respect and strategic partnerships. Last year, we successfully proposed to replace synthetic fertilizers near the lake with organic alternatives.We also contributed to a newly approved environmental regulation protecting the lake. The law, titled Regulation for the Ecological Rights of Grandmother Lake Atitlán, reflects our ancestral view of the lake as a living being — not a resource, but our grandmother and healer.
Part of the regulation includes a new festival to celebrate Grandmother Lake every March — spiritually, scientifically, artistically, and communally (stay tuned for the launch of this Festival in 2026!). This impact is the result of 20 years of dedication. We’ve revived concepts that were being forgotten and made them part of new community law. This regulation is specific to San Pedro La Laguna but is based on national and international legal frameworks. We hope other towns will adopt similar measures as the model grows.
