The promises of Guatemala’s 1996 Peace Accords remain elusive in the face of persistent marginalization of indigenous communities, corruption and aggravated by state absence, among other democratic governance challenges.

A 2015 U.S. report on the region warned that without breaking patterns of unresolved conflict and historic social inequality, conflict and violence will only escalate.

The Peacebuilding Project, known as Proyecto Tejiendo Paz in Spanish, will work in 130 communities in the Western Highland departments of Huehuetenago, Quiché, San Marcos and Totonicapán to support peace initiatives.

The five-year project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and is implemented by Creative Associates International with partners Fundación ProPaz and PartnersGlobal.

Proyecto Tejiendo Paz will focus on conflict dynamics as they pertain to gender, youth and families, governance, land, and natural resources.

With support from project-trained conflict mediators and community facilitators, these communities will engage councils of elders, healers, women’s groups, youth organizations and other key players to identify causes of these types of conflict, carry out action plans to mitigate them and resolve existing disputes.

Communities will develop their own “community vision,” with input from focus groups and larger public forums and inclusive of often-marginalized groups like women and youth. These long-term action plans provide a road map for communities to build resilience and address conflict using a combination of existing community assets and new tools and ideas relevant to their needs and context.

At a broader level, the project builds the capacity of departmental and national governments to better understand and resolve local conflict and improve communication with communities through trainings and exchanges for key governmental institutions, strengthening early warning and response to conflict and improving coordination among agencies.

As municipal, departmental and national governments and agencies improve their ability to address local conflict and grievances, they will rebuild relationships and trust with communities.

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