History
Finca Comunitaria La Florida is the result of an over 20-year struggle for campesino rights for land, freedom and justice, and the desire of a group of strong-willed people to build a collectively designed community rooted in democracy and social and environmental sustainability.
SCIDECO
In 1984 a group of workers formed SCIDECO (Sociedad Civil para el Desarrollo de Colomba - Civil Society for the Development of Colomba), a labor union designed to combat the violation of rights and to improve the lives of campesinos. At the time Guatemala was 28 years into a brutal, 36-year civil war that claimed over 200,000 lives and displaced over 1 million people. ¨When we started SCIDECO everyone was seeking work. Men and women would leave the house, often with children, to look for work in the remaining, operating fincas in the region. We started our days at four in the morning and hoped to not only find work, but also get paid - which was becoming increasingly rare," said member Rosarara Mejia Rosales.
The Occupation
After over two decades of organizing and consequent oppression, the members of SCIDECO found out about La Florida, an abandoned 47-acre finca in the region of Colomba Costa Cuca. According to Lorenzo Acjá, "the results of the negotiations were very poor during the eighties and nineties and therefore we knew that we had to use more drastic means to put pressure on the government." At four in the morning on October 11, 2002 over a hundred SCIDECO members descended the rich hills and occupied La Florida. For the next two years, they would be living in shelters created of scrap metal, nylon and bamboo, with little access to basic life necessities and in the constant fear of violence from the police and armed groups. Due to the lack of work and the threats of violence, many members were forced to move to the surrounding urban areas, leaving 22 families to live in the encampment.
Despite the extremely difficult conditions, the people agreed that their life during the occupation was a drastic improvement to the harsh political and economic climate just a few kilometers away. According to Emelia Esperanza Acjá, a mother of four, who gave birth to her youngest daughter in the encampment, life was “incredibly hard and required all of our individual and collective strength; but, it was much better, particularly for the women because we would have rights, make decisions and we don't have a boss - our lives are free here.”
Winning the Land
Eighteen months into the occupation, the community was negotiating with the government and the bank to purchase the land, facing obstacles ranging from a 12 million quezals price tag ($1.57 million USD) to a presidential election, a new administration and the constant struggle for survival in the encampment. The negotiations were at standstill. Consequently, the community agreed to amplify their tactics and decided to occupy and live in the heavily trafficked road from Colomba to Quezaltenango, the region capitol. Having never been threatened with similar action, the government rekindled the negotiations process. On April 24, 2004 the community purchased La Florida with a governmental loan of 6.5 million quetzals ($843,000 USD) to be paid off in 8 years, without interest - just over half the price originally offered.
On Their Own Land
Although now proud owners of their land, the battle for the people of La Florida was not over. In the consequent years, they would face various attempts of occupation by external groups and an internal conflict, after which the finca would be divided into two parts; one to be farmed collectively and the other based on private ownership. As a compensation for the lost land, the debt of the families remaining in La Finca Comunitaria La Florida was remitted, making the community a rare example in the area.
One would think that today, finally, life would be smiling at the people of La Florida. True, they have come along way. But a lot remains to be done. Having been abandoned for eight years, the coffee production of the finca is still insufficient to provide income for the community. This is why projects, such as the Ecotourism, have become an important way for the community to move forward and develop – step by step. The future is full of promises.
