2da. calle 16-60 zona 4
Mixco Edificio Atanasio Tzul
2do Nivel
Tel: (502) 432 0966
Fax: (502) 433 4779
Contact: Mr Helmer Valásquez

CONGCOOP is a national network of 26 civi-society organizations and co-operatives whose aim is to support the building of peace, democracy, and development in Guatemala.

Member of the International Land Coalition 2003
Member of the Coalition Council 2005-2007

ARnet

Advocacy

Launching LAND Parnterships at WSSD, Johannesburg, 2002

CONGCOOP undertakes such activities as research and policy formulation, policy advocacy and capacity building of its affiliates.

Research and dissemination of information. CONGCOOP's research shows that Guatemala continues to have the greatest inequalities in landholdings in Latin America with 2.25 percent of the population holding 64 percent of arable land. It has established a data base on land conflicts and resolution strategies, land markets, land legislations, relevant projects and other matters of interest, which it regularly updates to help inform civil society groups working in land and tenurial issues about what is happening at local as well as national levels. Its studies also show the long and rich experience of civil society organisations in dealing with agrarian issues which CONGCOOP has decided to bring to the forefront by documenting and disseminating these initiatives.

Another interesting study of CONGCOOP is on creating special programmes on social security, particularly on health security for workers, small farmers and agricultural workers who live under the poorest conditions in the country.

It publishes both an English and Spanish language publication which deals with such matters as farmers, land issues, refugees, displaced persons, as well as topics of overarching importance to the national context, such as international co-operation and the peace process.

Policy formulation and advocacy. CONGCOOP uses these research studies to contribute to the debate on the issues, to generate proposals as well as to unify efforts of different actors from civil society towards a concerted advocacy effort.

Capacity building through networking and linking of various stakeholders. Capacity building of affiliates are designed to protect and advance the political space of Guatemalan civil society. Through capacity building programmes and projects, co-ordination and networking, CONGCOOP is able to assist its affiliates to increase the impact of their work to benefit their target groups. At the same time, it has consolidated institutional linkages and information flows between civil-society organizations, government officials, donors and others in the country that can facilitate the land reform transfer to the farmers.

Guatemala - Farmers' Leader Killed

"Agrocombustibles, soberanía alimentaria y el derecho humano a la alimentacíon. Un triángulo dialéctico de ponderes".
El instituo de Estuadios Agrarios y Rurales - IDEAR - de la Coordinación de ONG y Cooperativas - CONGCOOP

Co-operatives
Civil society organizations
Agricultural Workers
Farmers
Landless
Peasants

Agrocombustibles, soberanía alimentaria y el derecho humano a la alimentación: Un triángulo dialéctico de poderes

Soberanía alimentaria y economía campesina: Desafíos para Guatemala en las negociaciones agrícolas de la omc, Guetemala, octubre de 2005 PDF 1374KB

Programa de Estudios para el Desarrollo Rural - Balance de la aplicación de la política agraria del Banco Mundial en Guatemala 1996-2005, Byron Garoz, Alberto alonso, Susana Gauster, Guatemala, octubre de 2005 PDF 455KB