Join us for a look at how communities in Guatemala and Chicago are facing challenges about water access and affordability.
Sunday, November 21, 2021.
10 am to 11:30am CST.
RSVP and we will send you the Zoom link.
We will hear from Verónica Girón, AFOPADI member in Guatemala and Naomi Davis founder/President of Blacks in Green (BIG) in Chicago.
They will share how to build resilience in the context of unequal distribution of and control over our natural resources.
We will be working alongside our allies, Blacks in Green and Chicago Peace Fellows.
We will meet at the Mamie Till-Mobley Forgiveness Garden at
6354 S. St. Lawrence, Chicago.
Saturday, September 11, 2021.
10 am to 1 pm CST.
Planting for 2 hours. Tour for 1 hour.
RSVP required.
This will include a walking tour (approximately two miles.)
Please bring your own gloves, hats, tools and sunscreen, if possible.
A hearty thank you for plant donation from Midwest Groundcovers.
We will be socially-distanced while planting.
Masks are required for the inside tour.
We will discuss some of the AFOPADI projects that SSG has been helping support this year. In particular, we will focus on AFOPADI's microloans for indigenous women, and the challenges and successes of women's economic empowerment both in Guatemala and Chicago.
Saturday, July 17, 2021
10:00am - 11:30am CST
RSVP and we will send you the Zoom link.
WE NAME IT, PRACTICE IT AND SHARE IT.
Join us for a look at how communities in Guatemala and Chicago are sharing resources and strategies for more resilient food systems.
Saturday, March 20, 2021
10:00am - 11:30am CST
RSVP and we will send you the Zoom link.
We will hear from people in the Highlands of Guatemala and North Lawndale in Chicago. Many of us have had to pivot to practice new methods needed to persevere and survive ongoing and immediate challenges.
We will share how to build resilience in the context of long-term systemic racism, through the lens of the pandemic.
Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala has scheduled our next Zoom gathering. Mark your calendar with the date, Sunday, November 15, 2020 from 10 to 11:30 am. Watch your email for details.
In response to our "new normal," SSG and AFOPADI have strengthened our bond. Since March, we speak almost weekly with Veronica Giron ("Vero"). We update each other on the similarities and differences in Guatemala and the US. The effects and responses to COVID-19 both vary and echo.
The global pandemic vividly brings home how we are all more interconnected than we previously imagined. AFOPADI has been working with the Mayan communities regarding safe practices and survival in a context of limited available resources and cultural constructs. We are excited to share with you the ways in which AFOPADI is currently addressing how to center amidst chaos.
During a Zoom gathering, including Vero, on Saturday, October 3rd from 1pm to 3 pm, we plan to share more details about how all our work up until now has proven critical. Your contributions help empower these indigenous communities to sustain themselves at this critical juncture. Simultaneously, their perspective and actions contribute tools for us to navigate our societal challenges.
We hope you are getting inspiration and hope from your gardens and those people you respect and honor. See a photo of Vero here providing both. Read more details in a letter from Vero in English or Spanish.
Veronica Giron in Guatemala
In our "new normal" sense of time, SSG has been in touch extensively with AFOPADI. They regularly update us on what is happening in Guatemala.
The global pandemic vividly brings home how we are all more interconnected than we previously imagined. The people in the indigenous villages are experiencing the same exposure to the virus as we are. AFOPADI has been working with the communities regarding safe practices in terms of available resources and cultural constructs. AFOPADI has also distributed masks and other PPE. We are excited to share with you the ways in which AFOPADI is currently addressing how to center amidst chaos.
We plan to share more details about how all our work up until now has proven critical in empowering the communities to help sustain themselves at our virtual gathering planned for early September. We hope you are getting inspiration and hope from your gardens and from those people you respect and honor.
Join us for warmth and community on a Saturday morning before we head down to Guatemala. We will meet in North Lawndale to admire SSG Board Member Annamaria Leon's wintering permaculture garden and foraging forest and to share some warm drinks and snacks at her home.
For our February site visit to Guatemala, we are asking for donations of headlamps and metal water bottles to give to local Guatemalan facilitators.
About Headlamps:
- Staff use headlamps to navigate the difficult mountain paths in the dark
- Headlamps must run on batteries versus USB
- Batteries are needed too!
- Link to a sturdy and recommended headlamp
About Water Bottles:
- Staff need water bottles because they visit communities without water. They need to take their own water on their walks that might be 3 hours each direction.
- Bottles need to be metal for durability and to avoid plastic
- Link to a recommended water bottle
DATE: Saturday, 8 February 2020
TIME: 11am - 1pm
PLACE: Permaculture Chicago Teaching Institute
ADDRESS: 3343 West Douglas Blvd., Chicago 60623
COST: No cost. Please bring something to share to eat and
headlights and/or water bottles to donate.
RSVP: [email protected] by Thursday, 6 February 2020
Street parking is available.
September: Gathering at Farm on Ogden
June: Guatamalan Dinner at Las Delicios
February: Presentation of Advocates for Urban Agriculture Livestock Expo Presentation by Veronica Giron, SSG Guatamalan Partner
February: Using Global Permaculture Methods to Enhance Local Stewardship Presentation at Kilbourn Park by Veronica Giron
February: Climate Resilience Panel at NeighborSpace by Veronica Giron
February: Interview on WBEZ's Worldview
Special Thanks!
We want to especially thank Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Friends of Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse, NeighborSpace, Permaculture Chicago Teaching Institute, Kilbourn Friends, Farm on Ogden, Marcela Bernal, Dejan Bajic, Maria Muralles, Kristen Kepnick, Christa Orum-Keller, Lourdes Valenzuela, Renee Costanzo, Ervin Lopez, Andrea Ortez, Ashley Meyer, Julie Cowan, and Las Delicias Restaurant for deepening our network and hope.
Please Save the Date!
Saturday February 8, 2020 from 11 am to 1 pm. We will be gathering at the Permaculture Chicago Teaching Institute to send off SSG Board member, Annamaria Leon, & SSG President, Julie Siegel, on the annual SSG site-visit to our partner non-profit, AFOPADI, in Guatemala.
We ask you to bring a dish to share. Also, we are requesting metal water bottles or miner’s head lamps to bring to local AFOPADI staff for whom water and electricity is scarce. These small items made a huge difference in daily life. There is no national postal service in Guatemala, so material things must be brought down in person.
At this time of Thanksgiving, share the bounty of the harvest season in the Mayan communities. Where people lack food security, our Guatemalan partners are building food sovereignty. Their barter markets inspire us to build stronger networks both in Guatemala and at home.
Give generously to support SSG and know your donation will grow health and independence initiatives.
Donate to SSG via PayPal
If you prefer not to use PayPal, please pay via check.
Make check out to Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala
and send to:
Wanda Evangelista
5142 N. Rutherford Ave.
Chicago, IL 60656
Attn: SSG
Questions: Email Julie Siegel: [email protected]
For more information about SSG, visit our website.
SSG partners with established organizations in Guatemala and the United States that share our vision and values to build practical, working models that can translate sustainability across borders and cultures. One partner, AFOPADI, focuses on the education, health, and agriculture of rural indigenous Guatemalans. AFOPADI spearheads community-based projects to achieve positive, long-term effects. Rapid climate change compels AFOPADI to focus on clean and accessible water projects.
Annually, SSG aims to raise $6,000 for a local AFOPADI facilitator's salary.
Donate via PayPal at https://www.sustainablesharing.org/donate
During your holiday shopping, go to AmazonSmile to donate to SSG and remember #GivingTuesday is December 3rd.
Thanks to our supporters who participated in our September 2019 event. The Farm on Ogden's local community models inspire us to strengthen networks.
Your donation helps make it possible for SSG to significantly improve the lives of program participants in Guatemala.