Project Ix-canaan ('Guardians of the Rainforest' in the local Mayan language) exists to enable and empower the local Mayan community in the Peten region of Guatemala to protect and save their own rainforests, which are so important to local life and livelihoods that it is impossible to imagine life without them. However, threats to the rainforests are abundant, from foreign criminal gangs buying up vast swathes of land to cut down the trees and build farms for money-laundering purposes to illegal logging by international companies.

Arriving on the scene in El Remate, Peten, in 1995, founder Anne Lossing dedicated years to establishing meaningful relationships with everyone in the local community, numbering around 250 families with around eight to ten members in each. She worked in collaboration with regional organisations and with funding from kind and dedicated donors, both local and international, to empower the local community towards a future in which they have the ability and opportunity to stand up for their rainforests.

Year by year, Project Ix-canaan develops in new ways, working with everyone in the local community from young children and doting grandparents to the town mayor and business leaders. The project's clinic is a staple to the village, as is its dentist surgery, women’s centre and brand new children’s development centre. The women’s centre gives local women the chance to work together in their own space, away from the home, socialising and learning new crafts and business skills. The children’s centre is an integral addition to the project, giving the region’s girls and boys, who often work in the family business from a young age, the much-needed space to just be children; to learn, to study, and to relax and have fun together in a safe and nurturing space. The clinic and dentist surgery have been providing safe and effective healing for illnesses and minor injuries for over two decades.

While the clinic and children’s centre are staffed by paid local professionals, Project Ix-canaan could not continue without the dedicated support of you - our partners, donors and volunteers.

It costs just $800 (USD) per month to keep this inspirational, successful and integral organisation running (that's everything from paid local staff to utility bills). A one-off or monthly donation from you will make an immediate and substantial difference to the lives and futures of the local community, and in turn to the future of the Selva Maya rainforest.

Visit our website, follow us on social media and sign up to our blog to discover the impact your donations make and, from everyone at the project and in El Remate and surrounding areas: THANK YOU!