Grace Cantu

Long Way Home

Long Way Home's mission as a registered US 501(c)3 is to mobilize people to actively participate in democracy and create innovative pathways to economic and environmental justice, through green building, employment, and education. Located in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, Long Way Home (LWH) is constructing a K-12 vocational school using alternative methods and materials including rammed-earth tires and plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash. The purpose of the school project is to provide the young people of Comalapa with marketable skills that will enable them to be responsible citizens and entrepreneurs. There is a severe lack of educational opportunities for teenagers and young adults in rural Guatemala, and this project will give the young people of Comalapa the tools they need to be competitive in the local job market. Although Comalapa is an agricultural community in which the people live "close to the land," the ideas of studying the environment and contributing to its sustainability are relatively new to Comalapans. There are few programs that allow children to learn about their natural surroundings and how to preserve them. We expect that our enhanced curriculum will inspire a heightened sense of urgency among Comalapans about environmental stewardship.