Global Press Journal Connections: The World in Photos

Sololá, Guatemala

Eduardo Yaxón, 25, works on his agro-ecological farm, called “El Buen Vivir,” or “The Good Life,” in the village of Chaquijyá in Guatemala’s Sololá department, where he uses ecological techniques to conserve native plants and promote biodiversity in the area. One such technique is called alcochado, in which a layer of dried grass covers the soil to reduce evaporation during the dry seasons when this community doesn’t have enough water for Yaxón to irrigate his land.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Jacinto Terraza, 42, tends to about 40 goats at Centro de Producción Caprina del Altiplano, or Ceprocal, a goat production center in Nebaj, a municipality in Guatemala’s Quiché department. The goats’ milk production will contribute to increased food security and better nutrition, especially for children under two in the area.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Lucia Matom, 27, pulls weeds and clears a ditch in Buenos Aires, a village in the western municipality of San Juan Cotzal, Guatemala. Every two months, Matom and other residents of this mountainous region work together to clear this thoroughfare.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Ana Chávez (left), 29, and Francisco Matom (right), 38, help María Brito (center), 35, measure the weight and height of her 1-year-old son, Juan Matom, who is not related to Francisco, in the village of Viucalvitz, in the Nebaj municipality of Guatemala’s Quiché department. This event, held on Aug. 28 by Guatemala's Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social, promoted maternal and child health in the community.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Chemal, Quiché, Guatemala

For two hours three days a week, María Escobar, 29, washes her family’s clothes in front of their house in Chemal, a community in the Chajul municipality of Guatemala’s Quiché department. Escobar soaks the clothes in the large basin, then uses a wooden board and soap.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Antonio Terraza, 75, uses polyester thread to crochet a traditional “morral,” or satchel. He’s in front of a store near his home in the village of Vicalama, part of the municipality of Nebaj, in Guatemala's Quiché department. Preserving a tradition of his community, Terraza uses threads of many colors.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Classmates Antonio Guzaro (right), 8, and Mario de Paz, 9, play marbles on a street in Vicalama, a community in the Nebaj municipality of Guatemala’s Quiché department. During the evenings, children can be found playing marbles, a popular children’s game in Guatemala, on the street, in schools or at their homes.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Community development council members (from left) Juan Brito, 38; Francisco López, 23; José Bernal, 45; and Celestino Marcos, 56, put together a risk reduction map for the Sumal Grande community, in the Nebaj municipality of Guatemala’s Quiché department. The map identifies vulnerable areas within the community and will help it mitigate the effects of a natural disaster.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Jorge Gómez, 38, holds the Guatemalan flag while he and other members of Save the Children, an organization that works to improve education and living conditions for children, sing Guatemala’s national anthem during their Independence Day celebration in the Nebaj municipality, in the department of Quiché. The Save the Children group met on Sept. 14 to celebrate 196 years of independence, officially celebrated nationally on Sept. 15.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

For at least five hours a day, Ortencio de Villa weaves women’s clothes in a variety of popular local styles in San Juan Cotzal, in Quiché department, Guatemala. De Villa provides for his family, despite the social stigma and “machista,” or macho, ideology that keep many men from doing this type of work.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Joel Julajuj (left), 19, and José Julajuj, 17, who are not related, participate in a workshop at their school in Chaquijyá village in Sololá, a department in southwestern Guatemala. The event is an icebreaker, at which those attending gave each other flowers and talked about their goals, to learn how they can support one another and motivate themselves to be successful.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Children aged 10 to 15 use a computer in one of their first technology classes at the Escuela Guadalupana, a school in Chaquijyá village in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. Their teacher, Leona Sajvin, provides her personal computer to show the students the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Juana Guzaro helps her daughter Ana Guzaro, 7, arrange her belt, as Ana delicately combs her hair before they run errands in Viucalvitz Nebaj village in Quiché, a department in northwestern Guatemala. The traditional outfits in this community can take 10 to 15 minutes to put on, so mothers often help their daughters get dressed.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Engracia Lainez uses a rolling pin to make artisanal cheese in Quiché, a department in northwestern Guatemala. Lainez and her children make cheese six times a week as a source of income to support the family.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Aldea, Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Félix Solares (right) tends to the gladioli that he grows in a plot in front of his home in Aldea Chaquijyá, a hamlet in southwestern Guatemala. He and his son, Byron, will later cut and sell them by the dozen in local markets.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Every day for about five hours, Marta Cobo, 11, takes her family’s goats out to the pastures in Quiché, a department in northwestern Guatemala, where she and her father then collect firewood. Many families in this region rely on herding livestock for their food and economic resources.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

For at least three hours every day, Petronila Velasco, 53, weaves huipiles – loose-fitting tunic-like garments worn by indigenous women in Central America and Mexico – at her home in San Juan Cotzal, in western Guatemala. Families have been making and wearing traditional clothing for generations, and this helps preserve the local culture and identity.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Marta Matom Brito, 40, teaches her son Jacinto Alexander Brito Brito, 8, how to plant trees in their village of Salquil Grande, in Guatemala’s Quiché department. The family planted pine, cypress and alder trees to help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Quiché, Guatemala

Miguel Ramírez, 32, cares for about 4,500 cypress and pine trees four times a week in the western department of Quiché, Guatemala. The trees will later be planted to combat climate change’s effects on this agriculture-dependent region.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

San Juan Cotzal, Guatemala

Ana Pérez Gómez experiments with cost-effective handwashing techniques during a lesson on water-conserving handwashing methods in San Juan Cotzal, a municipality in Guatemala’s western highlands. The lesson was a part of PAISANO, a six-year food security project in Guatemala, implemented by the nonprofits Save the Children and Project Concern International.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Santa María Nebaj, Guatemala

At a community meeting, women from Santa María Nebaj, Guatemala, draw out plans for their family gardens. The group meets every two weeks to share gardening ideas and experiences that help each family grow its own healthy food to eat or to sell.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala

Saida Chiquibal (left), 11, braids Sucely Jiatz’s hair on Calle Santander, a street in the town of Panajachel, in Guatemala’s Sololá department. Saida, who charges 10 to 15 Guatemalan quetzals ($1.36 to $2.04), depending on the length of the hair, braids using colorful thread. The street is a popular shopping spot for both locals and tourists.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

A group of 12- to 14-year-old students from the Instituto Tecnológico paints the entrance to the institute in Sololá, a department in southwestern Guatemala. The Instituto Tecnológico is a youth academic institute at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala’s Altiplano campus. The children were participating in the Niñas Furia project, which helps Sololá students develop sensitivity and discover their painting and other artistic talents.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

Sololá, Guatemala

Walter Rabinal plays piano in a park in Sololá, a municipality in southwestern Guatemala, as part of the “El Viaje” project, which puts pianos in public places for anyone to use. The project aims to help Guatemalan communities take an interest in music, to promote harmony and unity.

Photo by Brenda Leticia Saloj Chiyal

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Sololá, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Chemal, Quiché, Guatemala

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Nebaj, Quiché, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Aldea, Chaquijyá, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

Quiché, Guatemala

San Juan Cotzal, Guatemala

Santa María Nebaj, Guatemala

Panajachel, Sololá, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala

Sololá, Guatemala