The Ixil Triangle

The Centro Explorativo is located in the municipality of Nebaj, in the department of El Quiche in Guatemala.  Situated in a remote valley surrounded by the Cuchumatan Mountains Nebaj and two other neighboring towns, Chajul and Cotzal, together form the Ixil Region.  Due to its location, natural borders, and undeveloped roads this region has remained relatively isolated to both neighboring Guatemalans as well as the international traveler.  This isolation is an influential factor in the preservation of Mayan culture and language evident in the Ixil Region.  Most women in this area continue to use their native dress and almost all speak the native Mayan language, Ixil.

As well, this was one of the regions most affected by the thirty-year civil war that ended in 1996.  The Cuchumatan Mountains served as the base of operations for Guerilla groups and the Guatemalan army fought hard to maintain control over this area.  As a result of the conflict thousands of local civilians from this area became victims of torture, many were disappeared and even a larger number were internally displaced.

Today, the region has recovered from the violence of the past and is developing at a fairly rapid pace. People are friendly, open and, by and large, simply want to live their lives, forget, and move on.  While surpassing hurdles of the past, resources and infrastructure are still highly inadequate.  No where is this more true than in the area of education.

Beneficiaries

The majority of our beneficiaries are elementary, middle, and high school students from the town of Nebaj.  On average more than 40 students take advantage of the library on a daily basis to help with their school investigations.  In addition to these  students, we currently have 40 students enrolled in our afterschool program.  Of those 40, 81% are indigenous and 71% are bilingual speaking their native Mayan language, Ixil, along with Spanish.