The Waka Research Foundation
Community Support
Community:
The Communities of Laguna del Tigre
The site of Waka' sits at the heart of Laguna del Tigre’s core biosphere zone. More than 10,000 hectares of mature tropical forest and world heritage wetlands surround the site core of approximately 900 hectares. Beyond that, in collaboration with government and non-government partners, the Waka Archaeological Research Project seeks to enhance protection of another approximately 60,000 hectares of forest and wetlands to the north of Waka'. The southeastern salient of the Park is also home to two invader communities: Paso Caballos to the east, and Buen Samaritano to the west, both on the San Pedro Martir River. Both of these communities have negotiated agreements with the Council for Protected Areas and exist within established perimeters in the Park. The Waka' Project hires workers from both Paso Caballos and Buen Samaritano, as well as from two communities just outside the southern border of the Park, Centro Campesino and a string of villages along the road to San Benito we collectively call "Cruce Perdida" (the crossroads at Laguna Perdida.)
From 1960 to 1996 Guatemala endured the longest civil conflict in the history of Latin America. The war displaced thousands of farming families who sought new places to call home. Many of these landless families established communities within Guatemala’s protected areas. The issues surrounding communities within Guatemala’s protected areas are complex, and experts, institutions, and individuals have weighed in on both sides polarizing the debate. In some cases, communities have been evicted from protected areas, only to return, or retaliate against those removing them from what they consider to be the only chance for them to make a life for themselves and their families. In some cases, as in Laguna del Tigre, the Government took the initiative of changing the designation of some of the already occupied land from reserve, creating polygons of multipurpose land, where farming is permitted.
Dozens of communities have now established themselves within Guatemala’s national parks. Their impact grows with their success, straining the edges of the multipurpose polygons, at times spilling over in the form of new invasions. The challenge, therefore, is sustainability – the key concept of conservation – and one which remains elusive and problematic in complex situations such as that in Laguna del Tigre.
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Community and Archaeology
When work began at Waka’ the vision was one of long-term commitment to research at the site, and to work within the park. Co-directors David Freidel and Héctor Escobedo recognized that any long-term commitment would have to include forming collaborative relationships with the communities in closest proximity to El Perú. Though these communities had no experience working on archaeological excavations, the majority of the every season’s workforce has come from the communities of Paso Caballos, Buen Samaritano, and Cruce Perdida, all communities within and around the boundaries of Laguna del Tigre. Augmented with experienced excavators from Dolores, a community famous for its tradition of archaeological excavators, the project has quickly developed a skilled and dedicated work force.
Paso Caballos, a K'ekchi' Maya community, was established in 1992 near the headwaters of the San Pedro Martir River. It is the natural gateway into the Laguna del Tigre Park and the terminus of the only open land route into the Park from the south. The Waka' Project works with men and women from the community. The project houses and feeds all work staff during the field season in addition to wages. People working for the project learn new skills, including masonry, carpentry, and vehicle operation, in addition to archaeological field excavation techniques. The Waka' Project works to sustain the support of Paso Caballos, Buen Samaritano, Centro Campesino, and Cruce Perdida, through continued work in the archaeological site, while working to expand the communities’ potential as partners to government in and around the park zone.
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Our Goal
Our work with communities is vital. By including them, individuals from all four communities work together, fostering cooperation and relations of confidence. Each of these communities controls some important aspect of the future security and well being of the park. Buen Samaritano, the other community within the park, can help to prevent further destruction of forest along the western flank of the enclave. Cruce Perdida communities can help safeguard the road that tourists and their guides must travel to come into Waka'. By providing people in these communities with sustained employment over a period of years, we seek to gradually support the future survival and welfare of Laguna del Tigre Park.
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