Claudia Gonzalez, Molly Bucknam, and Zachary Morrice Conducted Research in Guatemala
With the support of the Georgetown Americas Institute, Claudia Gonzalez, Molly Bucknam, and Zachary Morrice traveled to Guatemala in Spring 2024 to conduct research on the attitudes towards women’s empowerment and climate change.
Their Georgetown Americas Institute (GAI) Student Grant helped fund our field research trip to the Department of Huehuetenango in the western highlands of Guatemala, a crucial component of our capstone project for the Global Human Development (GHD) Program.
During spring break, they visited nine communities where our capstone client, Global Communities, operates in six different municipalities within Huehuetenango. We conducted seven interviews and four focus groups, engaging with 23 community members and leaders, as well as conducted five interviews with Guatemala staff members. Additionally, the team observed some of the agricultural, livestock, and entrepreneurial ventures in these communities.
This allowed them to gather qualitative data to inform various aspects of their capstone project, including the primary income-generating activities of men and women in Huehuetenango, the challenges they face (such as the impact of climate change and extreme weather events on their households and communities), their definition of women’s empowerment, household decision-making dynamics, participation in community groups like village savings and lending groups, and their vision for the future of women in their communities.
The team will analyze this data to inform our findings and recommendations for Global Communities, which will culminate in a final report and presentation in April 2024. By incorporating a variety of local perspectives, the team seeks to ensure that Global Communities’ future pilot program in Guatemala will provide staff members, community members, and community leaders with the resources and opportunities they need to transform gender norms, relations, and systems and to advance food security, nutrition, and climate resilience.