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 are truly participating in “on the job training,” where they practice what they have learned and receive instruction and evaluation from […]
Valentine’s Day Update in Sisbilhá, Guatemala
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 dedication of Sowing Opportunities’ team on the ground in the region, and the tireless and motivated efforts of the participants. They are truly […]
Sisbilhá: Sowing Opportunities’ latest pioneering partnership
Sowing Opportunities’ team left a day earlier than the anticipated January 14, in case there might be roadblocks starting at the time that the new President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, was to be inaugurated – in case there were delays and protests. They made it safely to the remote region in Eastern Alta Verapaz, and […]
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 of Guatemala, to have greenhouse agriculture. Two villages now have food security, as well as a commerce and leadership development […]
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 party, Semilla, won by a landslide victory in Guatemala, with promises to be the anti-corruption president. He is due to […]
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 75 families – nearly 500 people – to create greenhouses that now feed them year round. The greenhouses were created […]
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 adopted from Guatemala, after she asked to meet her “real mom.” Fern is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and, […]
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: page 1 Please see the April 1 newsletter for details on the visit to Chajmaic. Details about giving cookware and […]
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) Before the armed conflict of 1960-1996 in Guatemala, the Q’eqchi’ people lived in arable land in the mountains where they lived […]
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 home grown plants and the sale of Guatemalan handicrafts, in order to raise funds for the greenhouse project. Details are […]
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 of Chajmaic, Guatemala, offering plants in exchange for donations, a bake sale, the sale of Guatemalan handicrafts and rock painting. […]
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 to Chajmaic. Details about giving envelopes with $25 each participant can be found at this page. Yesterday Fern witnessed the […]