DA7 San Carlos Alzatate is located in Jalapa department, located in the Eastern region of Guatemala at a distance of 178 km from Guatemala City. The total population of the municipality is over approximately 13,700 of which 52% is less than 14 years old. 63 percent of the population are considered literate, however with extremely low levels of education. Most women can not read or write. The average family size is 8 children. 73% of the population live in rural communities. The ethnic origins of the majority of the population are indigenous from the Poqomam Mayan group, however due to strong acculturation pressures from the 1930’s onward, the indigenous language and culture are no longer practiced. However the population recognizes its indigenous roots, and the land is distributed by the legal entity called The Indigenous Community.
Our partner organisation for DA7 is a community based organization, founded 2 years ago called COMSCAL (Associated Communities for the Development of San Carlos Alzatate). We view working with a community based organisation such as COMSCAL as a positive means to further grass-roots empowerment and effective participatory development.

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