Self Sufficiency Projects

We have the following projects that allows us to produce food and generate some money for the orphanage.

Hotel Backpackers

The Hotel Backpackers is located in Rio Dulce, at the point where the 'Mayan Route' crosses Lago Izabal.  Hundreds of tourists stop over here on their journey to Tikal, the Carribean Sea or to the highlands in the west of Guatemala.  The Casa Guatemala orphanage is a 20 minute boat ride down the river from the Hotel.

The hotel began to operate in 1997 in order to open up new opportunities for the orphanage.  It provides employment to local people and to teenagers leaving the Childrens Village, it allows them to gain experience in the industry of tourism and hospitality and all of the profits from the hotel go towards caring for the 250 children at the orphanage.

The hotel is run by paid staff and foreign volunteers.  You can find out more information about the Backpackers Hotel its website:  www.hotelbackpackers.com. 

The Farm

The Farm is an integral part of the Children’s Village, and is adjacent to it.  The farm provides both an education for our children and a much needed source of poultry, pigs, ducks, turkeys, fish, vegetables and fruit. It also oversees a reforestation program and cares for a horse called Poncho.

The farm was built at the same time as the Children’s Village, and with the help of everyone it was stocked with a variety of animals.  Initially the harsh conditions (heavy rain, burning sun, poor soil quality and the multitudes of insects) did not allow us to grow anything.  We were however encouraged by our successes with the livestock and so we constructed a hydroponics greenhouse and an organic greenhouse which allowed us to harvest good crops of vegetables.

After a few years of hard work and ensuring the continuing enrichment of the soil, the farm began to produce a good number of fruits and vegetables for the kitchen, along with the design of many school programs for the students at the Children’s Village.

The Farm Store

The Farm Store was born out of the realization that any excess production from the farm would be best sold directly in the market in Rio Dulce and all profits would be a source of funding for the orphanage.

In 1991 Casa Guatemala bought a small lot of land in the middle of the main market in town.  Over the past 9 years we have built two storage buildings and by 2000 we opened the butchers shop. This shop is entirely run by foreign volunteers and teenage employees, and again is both a source of income and industry experience for the children of Casa Guatemala.