Empowering Indigenous Women in Guatemala
In partnership with the World Food Programme, Stop Hunger supported a project in Guatemala aimed at strengthening the economic empowerment and leadership of indigenous women in Alta Verapaz. The aim was to help women build resilience to recurring economic and climate shocks, while laying the foundations for improved access to institutional markets, including possible engagement with Guatemala’s national Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
Strengthening women’s economic empowerment
In Alta Verapaz, WFP established 16 women’s Savings and Loans Groups, engaging 350 women in entrepreneurship and financial inclusion activities.
These groups completed a full savings cycle, mobilizing more than USD 144,000 in savings, loans and interest. Nearly three-quarters of participants also reported stronger group organization, greater confidence in collective decision-making, and improved access to credit.
Connecting women to institutional markets
The project also supported improvements to the School Feeding Management App, in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
These enhancements helped improve supplier onboarding, menu planning workflows, traceability, accountability and transparency, strengthening the readiness of the national school feeding programme for future scale-up.
Key learnings
Co-designing tools with government counterparts helped foster ownership and increased the likelihood of long-term uptake and sustainability.
Women’s groups proved to be effective platforms for strengthening indigenous women’s economic empowerment and enhancing their readiness to participate in institutional markets.
Training methodologies adapted to local languages and cultural contexts enhanced participant engagement and supported the effective application of new skills and knowledge.
Photo credits: © WFP/Nelson Pacheco
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