Programs and Projects

Environmental Protection

The Environmental Protection Program fosters community management of the environment. SATIIM is coordinating a network of community forest rangers in both Belize and Guatemala who are creating a regional system of environmental data. The organization is also developing a model of community-led natural resource management planning. Given the primal importance of the environment to Maya and traditional cultures, it is the thread running all SATIIM’s programmes.

Sustainable Development

The Sustainable Development Program recently focused on creating an Indigenous model of food sovereignty and sustainable development. As a result of UN- and EU-funded pilot projects, the combination of modern sustainable soil and Mayan practices tripled corn yields and increased plant resilience to documented climate changes. As a result of the recent ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice that the Belize government legalize communal Maya land, this program is now focused on creating a replicable model of community-led mapping and demarcation, leading to the country’s first Maya Land Registry. SATIIM is also leading peer-to-peer trainings in Maya-led mapping and demarcation with communities in Guatemala., you can trust that you’re in great hands.

Human Rights

The Human Rights Program is designed to empower SATIIM’s member communities – and ultimately all people in Belize and those with similar struggles across the globe – for full participation in their societies. In Belize, SATIIM’s legal success has inspired other grassroots groups to fighting for a voice in decisions that affect them. Globally, SATIIM continues to inform other Indigenous efforts on how to defend their lands and sustainably manage them according to their cultures. Most recently SATIIM is at the forefront of a nascent regional movement in Maya-led natural resource management and forest protection.