Asociación de Mujeres Ixpiyakok (ADEMI) is a Mayan Indigenous women-led organization that uses ancestral knowledge and practices to build food sovereignty and strengthen their political participation in rural areas of Guatemala. They work with more than 1,500 Mayan women on the following three focus areas:

• Agroecology and economic development: ADEMI uses local and native seeds and organic fertilizers and engages in Indigenous practices for animal husbandry that can provide food access for families in the short-term.
• Health: ADEMI works with midwives and health advocates to provide programs that support mothers, young women and children under five with nutrition. Workshops consist of sexual and reproductive health and traditional medicines.
• Political education: ADEMI promotes opportunities for Indigenous Mayan women to be engaged in civic and policy spaces where they can build their agency and enforce their political rights as citizens by defining and defending their beliefs and analysis based on their culture and reality.

ADEMI is a winner of the United Nations Equator Prize, which recognizes local sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities.

Learn more about ADEMI’s work on our blog.