Juana Cumes

Juana Cumes is from Chuaxic, Solola. She is a single mother to a nine-year-old boy whose father was killed in an accident shortly after he was born. Juana embodies the way we hire our employees. A job with Cultiva is a good job. People are lining up to work with us. So we typically hire people who have gone through our programs — people who have taken what they have been given and they have done well with it. Juana first came to Cultiva to attend our classes and training programs. She enjoyed learning and attended every available program, received her first garden box and her garden thrived. She then earned two more garden boxes and began selling items she was growing to provide extra income for her family. That’s when we knew we wanted Juana on our team! We could tell that she was special. In addition to Spanish and 3 other Mayan dialects, we found out that she also speaks English from two years she spent living in California, she studied Agriculture Business as an exchange student. Working for Cultiva has been a big blessing to her and her family. She was able to learn more about organic agriculture, which was very important to her. She has also learned a lot about animal husbandry and permaculture. She is planning on having her own working farm. She has learned the importance of being self-sufficient. She is a great example to her community of being a leader and woman, which is something that is very difficult in their culture. She loves working with the women, teaching them how to take care of themselves, and showing them how important it is to take care of their families in a healthy way. You can sponsor her employment with Cultiva with an annual gift of $6,000 or a monthly gift of $500. When you sponsor an employee like Juana, you’re not only supporting Juana and her family — you are supporting the hundreds of families she mentors and trains for Cultiva. Your gift will cover all of the costs associated with her annual employment — salary, benefits, and all Guatemala employment taxes and fees. You will be providing for Juana and her family and making it possible for her to work to advance the mission of Cultiva.