Paraje Xecaxjoj, Guatemala

Introduction

Paraje Xecaxjoj is a community of around 1,500 people living in the Momostenango municipality of Guatemala. In 2017, Engineers Without Borders-S&T partnered with the community to build a new school for the youth, as the current conditions were unsafe for students and unable to accommodate the number of children needing education. In December 2017, EWB-S&T traveled to Paraje Xecaxjoj to survey the project site and survey community members about their desires for the building. In 2020, a one-story school building was implemented. The team has continued to work on the project site, designing a gabion wall to control erosion and a soil berm to stabilize the site. Currently, the Guatemala team continues to design the gabion wall and soil berm and is preparing proper instructions so the community to remotely implement the project. In winter 2024, the team hopes to travel to Paraje Xecajoj to inspect the completed gabion wall and soil berm.