World Neighbors is a holistic international development organization that is working to end hunger, poverty and disease in poor indigenous communities in the Lake Atitlan region of Sololá, Guatemala, by training and inspiring communities to create and participate in solutions that improve community health, environmental awareness, food security and income generation.

ArtCorps’ goal is to use arts-based workshops to engage indigenous communities in the creation and implementation of World Neighbors’ projects that promote healthy behaviors, environmental awareness, leadership and entrepreneurial skills; ArtCorps simultaneously seeks to build the organizational capacity to incorporate art and culture into its leadership and education programs.

Beautiful Lake Atitlán, home to several Maya indigenous communities and the third largest fresh water lake in Guatemala gained renown at the 2009 World Water Form as “Threatened Lake of the Year”. The lake suffers from pollution due to the improper disposal of waste, as well as the destruction of its main water treatment plant in 2005 by Hurricane Stan. The destruction of this natural resource is taking its toll on the economies of some of the poorest communities in Guatemala, whose livelihoods rely heavily on the lake as a water source for agriculture and tourist attraction.

• Introduced income-generating activities and the practice of recycling and reusing materials by teaching new weaving techniques
• Developed self-esteem through art so that community members who were hesitant to share their ideas or express themselves are now empowered to actively participate
• Improved communication among World Neighbors staff by facilitating Art for Social Action workshops that provided staff with the tools and space to reflect and exchange ideas

2009-2010: Elena Rodriquez, a visual artist from Spain, is returning for a second year to continue her work with World Neighbors-Atitlán in Guatemala. Working closely with her counterpart in World Neighbors, Elena uses a variety of mediums such as mural painting, sculpture, recycled and folk art to engage community groups from the Lake Atitlán region and connect them to their environment. Elena’s workshops for staff, teachers, women, men, youth and children demonstrate her range as an artist and community worker.

• Weaving for Nature: Elena taught groups in several communities near the lake to collect plastic bags that are commonly thrown on the ground and weave them into handicrafts. In addition to teaching a new income-generating activity, this initiative has raised awareness about reusing and recycling.
• Recre-arte: In collaboration with World Neighbors, Elena worked with approximately two dozen children in Chuaqa’naq to develop creativity and artistic skills while addressing the community’s problem with waste management. In 2010, she will continue her work with these children, with a focus on recycling and reusing materials.
• Puppetry: Indigenous women are among the most marginalized groups in Guatemala as a function of gender and ethnic discrimination as well as language barriers. With World Neighbors, Elena reached out to a group of indigenous women despite her inability to speak Quiché and their inability to speak Spanish. Elena’s talent and the women’s interest enabled them to start creating puppets and scripts based on issues of interest to the community. These puppet shows will be performed at cultural events.
• Art Contest: Community participation is key to World Neighbor’s work. 35 youth, with Elena’s help, will organize a community-wide drawing contest that is intended to engage community members. The youth will select the winner and community members will help paint the winning drawing onto a billboard.
• Capacity-building: In order to begin integrating art into World Neighbor’s programming, Elena conducted several capacity-building workshops for five World Neighbors staff and will conduct 10 more in 2010. Not only have these workshops contributed to projects, but they have also improved internal communication among World Neighbors staff members by creating a space to reflect, self-evaluate and express ideas.