Guatemala: 1,000 trees for a land worth staying for
Guatemala: 1,000 trees for a land worth staying for
The rainy season in Guatemala has begun — and now is the time to plant new trees. We want to plant 1,000 of them in just a few days, to bring life back to a land that is losing it.
"He fell upon the shoulders of my volcanoes, where in his heart the Little Prince’s love song for his rose was born."
— Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, The Tale of the Rose (2000)
In 1938 a breakdown forced Saint-Exupéry to stop in Guatemala while flying to New York. He stayed in Antigua and visited Lake Atitlán. Many people, including his wife Consuelo, believe the landscape of Asteroid B-612 was born there — from his knowledge of that land, at once harsh and poetic.
A land in need of life
Guatemala today faces a rainy season that is less and less predictable. When it comes, it comes violently. Then it stops. The soil can no longer hold the water. For those who grow corn, beans or coffee, it means a future at risk. It isn’t only a farming problem: it’s the chance to go on living off your own land. Already today, more than 2 million Guatemalans live abroad.
Where trees put down roots, so do the people
A tree planted beside a crop isn’t a symbolic gesture: it’s soil that holds more water, a better-protected harvest, extra income when coffee isn’t enough. Where trees put down roots, so do the people.
