Sowing Opportunities is born and the journey continues!
In January 2015 – our family embarked on a personal journey that brought us to Chajmaic, Guatemala.
When we realized the need of the entire village, Chajmaic, population 1,750 (2015) – remote and destitute in rural Guatemala – we began the project that has today become a nonprofit organization, Sowing Opportunities.
Sowing Opportunities podcast on Paul Ponders podcast
From Paul Ponders: "Sowing Opportunities", a Malden, MA -based Charity that assists destitute villages in Guatemala in gaining access to clean water for basic needs and cultivation of their land. You will hear from Executive...
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How Sisbilhá, Guatemala waters its greenhouses (March 2024)
https://youtu.be/pGS_q2kso5M A video message from Fern Remedi-Brown, Executive Director of Sowing Opportunities who just returned from visiting the village of Sisbilhá in the Eastern Highlands of Guatemala: What was surprising is how the women have...
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March 2024 Visit to Sisbilhá: Surprising Experiences
My recent visit to Guatemala was exciting: there is much to share! Our team of four arrived in Sisbilhá on Thursday, March 7 in Guatemala’s hot summer in Alta Verapaz with temps reaching 100°F (37.78°C). ...
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March 2024 update: Amazing developments in the remote indigenous villages in the Guatemala Highlands
https://youtu.be/M-HeHjKvA5s The mostly women-led projects are developing at a rapid pace, thanks to the dedication of Sowing Opportunities’ team on the ground in the region, and the tireless and motivated efforts of the participants. They...
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Valentine’s Day Update in Sisbilhá, Guatemala
Happy Valentine's Day! Sowing Opportunities has witnessed amazing developments in the remote indigenous village of Sisbilhá, in the Eastern Highlands of Guatemala. The mostly women-led projects are developing at a rapid pace, thanks to the...
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Sisbilhá: Sowing Opportunities’ latest pioneering partnership
Social worker Licenciada Lety gets commitment of the women in Sisbilhá, December 2023 Sowing Opportunities' team left a day earlier than the anticipated January 14, in case there might be roadblocks starting at the time...
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Sowing Opportunities’ 2023 Annual Report
In 2015 a ten-year-old girl, adopted in the U.S. from Guatemala, expressed her desire to find her biological family. This led to a pioneering effort for a remote, previously forgotten region in the Eastern Highlands...
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The strength of Sowing Opportunities’ infrastructure
We at Sowing Opportunities realize that life is very difficult throughout Guatemala right now. People need democracy and are willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve it. In August, President-elect Bernardo Arévalo and his political...
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How Sowing Opportunities Helps Inhabitants in Unfarmable Land to Build Greenhouses
High in the mountains of the Eastern Highlands in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, there are disparate villages with mountains in-between. In an area of scarce resources, rocky soil, and no tourist commerce, Sowing Opportunities works with...
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Sowing Opportunities’ beginnings
Sowing Opportunities, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, formed in 2018 by Fern and Ginny Remedi-Brown of Malden. The idea came following the inquiry in 2011 of their then six-year-old daughter, Maya, who was...
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Guatemala Travelogue, March 2023
This is a travelogue of Fern's visit to Guatemala for the purpose of advancing the Agricultural, Water for Food and Water Security, and the Building Project for a Gathering Space for Eastern Alta Verapaz, Guatemala:...
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Life in the Mountains
Q’eqchi’ communities’ identity is connected to and their culture is deeply related to the mountains, especially in terms of their religion, such as with mountain spirits, dating back to pre-colonial history. (Wilson, pp. 13-14) View...
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2022 Local Festivals
Visit our Events page! Sowing Opportunities has participated in spring and summer 2022 in local festivals to introduce our mission to Malden, Melrose, and Revere residents, and to raise funds through donations in exchange for...
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Earth Day 2022
On Friday, April 22, 2022, Sowing Opportunities held an Earth Day event in front of The Gallery@57 from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. The event included discussing our mission and work in the remote indigenous village...
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Guatemala Travelogue, May 2022
This is a travelogue of Fern's visit to Guatemala for the purpose of advancing the Innovative Solutions to Create Sustainability project for Chajmaic, Guatemala. Please see May 14, 2022 newsletter for details on the visit...
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Agricultural solutions address migration due to poverty and lack of economic opportunities
In April 2021 U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris met with Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei to discuss "the causes of irregular migration and that cause Guatemalans to leave their homes in search of better development opportunities." (LaHora.gt) ...
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How Success Will Be Measured with the Greenhouse Project
Training in specific agricultural techniques and greenhouse maintenance will be documented through a pictorial manual (note that illiteracy is high). Trainees will prove their knowledge by setting up and maintaining greenhouses properly. This will be...
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How Climate Change Affects Chajmaic’s Food Insecurity and Sowing Opportunities’ Agricultural Solution
Extreme conditions in Central America are leading to food insecurity and lack of employment, which in some cases, causes youth to flee the region, seeking work elsewhere. The dry corridor has been affected by climate...
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Malden Garden Supports Building Greenhouses in Guatemala
Malden Garden Supports Building Greenhouses in Guatemala Growing and sharing our local food to make an impact around the world! Last year's "World Water Day" (March 2021) we decided to celebrate our contributions to water...
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Sowing Opportunities’ Innovative Solutions to create Sustainability
Sowing Opportunities' Innovative Solutions to create Sustainability, and help reduce Poverty and Malnutrition in Chajmaic, Guatemala On March 15, 2022, our agricultural engineer, Federico Arriola Cuéllar, traveled to the indigenous, remote village of Chajmaic to...
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