A monthly talk show on Ak Kutank radio will be hosted by members of ACDC. This radio covers remote Toledo and this will be done in Q’eqchi’ and Mopan. A brochure will be prepared to advertised and promote the work of ACDC and the products and services being offered in Aguacate. The website will be updated to better promote the sites worldwide. Business cards will be produced and will be distributed to tourist information places and hotels countrywide.
ACDC will implement the activity for back yard gardening, which will provide additional income and subsistence farming for households.
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
Aguacate is a Mayan Community, and therefore community meetings are normally conducted using the local Mayan Language.
Project sustainability
It may be advisable that the association networks with entities including Toledo Tour Guides Association (TTGA), Belize Tourism Board and tour operators in neighboring Harvest Caye, which should both assist in providing support (e.g. marketing) and creating the enabling environment for ACDC to gain exposure and opportunities to provide tour guide services and generate income for the group. In its push to generate more income and increasing the chances of ensuring sustainability, ACDC may form linkages with local resorts and hotels to provide tour services in the Aguacate area. Additionally, in furthering its mission, the ACDC may also establish an information office with information regarding the tourist attraction sites in the Aguacate area that fall under the purview of the ACDC.
Capacity - Building Component
Ongoing Consultations – ACDC will continue to engage the communities through consultations which will be held in the form of community meetings, focus groups and individual surveys. This process will serve to identify emerging needs and challenges and to give feedback on the progress of the project and other activities of ACDC.
Suggestion Box – Community members will be able to give feedback and suggestions through a suggestion box located in the Aguacate R.C School.
? ACDC Annual General Meeting – All members of the ACDC and the wider community are invited to attend the annual general meeting. During the meeting the annual report is presented and distributed to the membership and villagers who attend. The attendees have an opportunity to air concerns and give feedback to ACDC.
Gender Focus
The Crafts Group is comprised of women and led by women and they are always included in community efforts. Women have an equal role and voice in the activities of ACDC. The view and involvement of women and youth is paramount within the community and is an important aspect of village improvement. There is urgency for women to participate in assisting the family to improve their standard of living. The long tradition of having men as the only ‘breadwinner’ needs to be changed. This fast changing world requires that women be actively involved so as to better provide for their family as well as to help provide a good education foundation for the children. The youth of today need to be exposed to new avenues of livelihood to become small entrepreneurs and this project is ideal since it is community based. The youth will be able to identify livelihood opportunities within the community.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
The following plans will continue to ensure full community awareness and participation in the implementation of the project:
Project Promotion – The project will be promoted through presentations to the community at public meetings.
Project Launch – The project will be formally launched at Aguacate. Villagers will be invited to attend and will have the opportunity to learn more about the project and how they can participate.
Replication of project activities
The impact and success of the Aguacate pilot community conservation area will encourage other communities to begin to conserve other areas within the Moho River watershed. Farmers in bordering communities will begin to see the impact of climate change in their area.
Policy Influence
This project did not influence policy. This project was aimed at demarcating a community conserved area, capacity building for the homestay, camping, and Arts and Craft groups, and livelihood options for the community of Aguacate.
Notable Community Participation
Youths are being involved in the consultation process for developing a strategic plan for the Organization. In addition, Students will be used to inform parents of the planned activities so that all families are aware of these activities. ACDC will continue to encourage and support the expansion of the three groups. The aim is to have membership from all families in the community participate in some aspect of the project. In particular, ACDC will strive to identify new opportunities to involve more women, youth and children in the project.
Project Results
Attainment of intended results
A thorough review of the progress reports (as at April 2015) revealed the following (note that this information was corroborated by the Project Coordinator and other participants at the
participatory workshop): Accomplished Objectives:
v Project Coordinator was hired; v ACDC Executive members and group leaders were trained in management of the
organization;
v Training in Arts and Craft was conducted; v Quotations for equipment from the various businesses were acquired; v Equipment such as tools, slicers, mini laptop computers and a printer were purchased.
The Project Coordinator stated that the following were in the pipe-line (April 2015): v Hiring of a consultant for strategic plan; v Identification and labeling of trees that are of medicinal use at the cave site; v Training in Small Business Management; v Training in Organic Vegetable Production; v Conducting project visibility, marketing and communications efforts; v Conducting consultation with community for the strategic plan; v Confirmation of location of sites; v Mapping of the sites and clear trails and GPS the corners; v Conducting Outreach and Learning Exchange Visits;
v Training in Tour Guide; v Training in Food Processing;
It should be noted that this information was gathered from the progress report dated April 2015. This was the only report presented. It is reasonable to expect that the other components of the projects have been addressed since that point in time. Therefore, the status of the other aspects of the project was brought up at the participatory end of project workshop on December
3, 2016.
The discussions that were conducted at the participatory end of project workshop revealed that all the afore-mentioned objectives that were in the pipe-line at April 2015 were completed
save the following:
v Mapping of the sites and clear trails and GPS the corners – it was stated that while the items to engage in establishing GPS coordinates were procured, there was no allocation for GPS training in the project’s budget, which made it impossible to produce proper
maps of the sites.
v Confirmation of location of sites – most of the areas were demarcated except a mountainous area near the village (the dimensions of which were yet to be determined) v Training in Organic Vegetable Production – the participants who were involved in this aspect of the project stated that they were not adequately trained in pest control and fertilizer preparation. Consequently, yields were lower than expected.
