Last year CSEE supported the Maya-focused, non-profit, Saq Be’, helping them to start a medicinal and educational garden in Guatemala. The community is looking forward to their next season of growing traditional healing plants at their ceremonial center. For many years, Saq Be’ has been dedicated to documenting and recording Mayan Elders.
With the garden success under their belts, Sa q Be’ made the decision to expand their work and initiated a new apprenticeship program that partners elders with young people in their communities to advance the intergenerational knowledge transfer necessary for the Maya lineage to remain vital. Elders of the region expressed a desire to connect their wisdom to younger generations and as a result, the Mayan Lineage Apprenticeship and Documentation Program was begun. With support from CSEE, young people will be paired with elders to do the on-going filming and documentation of their ancestral wisdom, engaging five communities throughout Guatemala. The vision and purpose of Saq Be’ is to bring the power and wisdom of different nations together to help fulfill the prophecy of the union of the Condor, the Quetzal, and the Eagle.
