Give
  • Our Work
  • Get Involved
  • Learn
  • For Business
      • Helpful Links
        • Marketing Sustainability
        • Certification Documents
        • Business Login Portal
      • Our Business Solutions
      • Sustainable Agriculture Certification
      • Sourcing Risk Assessment
      • Corporate Advisory Services
      • EUDR Risk Assessment
      • Cause Marketing
      • Work with us
      • From technical assistance and training, to supply chain risk management, certification and assurance—our experts and partners can support your business’s sustainability journey.
      • Start today
      • WHAT OUR SEAL MEANS
        The Rainforest Alliance certification seal means that the product (or a specified ingredient) was produced by farmers, foresters, and/or companies working together to create a world where people and nature thrive in harmony
  • en
    • Español
  • Give
  • Our Work
  • Get Involved
  • Learn
  • For Business
    • For Business
        • Helpful Links
          • Marketing Sustainability
          • Certification Documents
          • Business Login Portal
        • Our Business Solutions
        • Sustainable Agriculture Certification
        • Sourcing Risk Assessment
        • Corporate Advisory Services
        • EUDR Risk Assessment
        • Cause Marketing
        • Work with us
        • From technical assistance and training, to supply chain risk management, certification and assurance—our experts and partners can support your business’s sustainability journey.
        • Start today
        • WHAT OUR SEAL MEANS
          The Rainforest Alliance certification seal means that the product (or a specified ingredient) was produced by farmers, foresters, and/or companies working together to create a world where people and nature thrive in harmony
  • Seal
  • English
    • Español

Home / In the Field / Smallholder Forestry Creating Benefits at Scale: The Case of the Quiché Forestry Association, Guatemala

Case Study

Smallholder Forestry Creating Benefits at Scale: The Case of the Quiché Forestry Association, Guatemala

22 September 2017

Guatemala is a global leader in community forestry, having devolved control over forest resources to local actors in many parts of the country.

While the Maya Biosphere Reserve’s community forestry concessions are well-known, a host of smaller forest-based enterprises in other parts of the country is taking on increasing importance. These enterprises, though incipient, are already producing significant benefits for local producers, many of whom are indigenous Maya; they are also restoring ecological values in often degraded landscapes. A history of marginalization and continuing high poverty rates amongst indigenous groups in such areas, as well as extreme vulnerability to climate change, underscore the importance of cultivating sustainable forest enterprise.

This case study focuses on Quiché Forestry Association (AFORQ by its Spanish acronym), which works with smallholder forest producers in the department of Quiché, in Guatemala’s Western Highlands region. With the support of USAID, the Rainforest Alliance-led Climate Nature and Communities in Guatemala (CNCG) project has been working with AFORQ since 2014. Given AFORQ’s significant progress, and recognizing the many challenges that remain, it is an important moment to analyze the results of CNCG support to date. The findings here also have relevance beyond Guatemala, particularly for similar associations of smallholder forest producers in other parts of the tropics.

The central finding of this case study is that smallholder forestry associations can dramatically improve incomes over a relatively short period of time by adopting a market-oriented approach that targets preferred buyers and cuts out middlemen. Income improvement, in turn, can motivate foundational change in areas of organizational governance and management capacity with support through technical assistance. While building up the internal capacity for service delivery and business administration, it is critical to ensure that  revenue increases are passed on to smallholder producers, and not solely captured by the association itself.

Choose a language and version to view this Case Study:

PDF - 1.1 MB - Version 1.0
Download
PDF - 1.3 MB - Version 1.0
Download

Forests & Biodiversity Guatemala In the Field Mesoamerica Monitoring & Evaluation

Join our Mailing List

Get updates from the Rainforest Alliance, straight to your inbox.

gdpr
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Organization
    • Our Work
    • Get Involved
    • Learn
    • Shop
  • About
    • About us
    • Our Crops
    • Our Global Reach
  • For Business
    • Work with us
    • Certification Program
    • Corporate Advisory Services
    • Marketing Sustainability
    • Knowledge Hub
  • Info
    • Press Room
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • FAQs
    • Audited Financial Documents
RA logo

The Rainforest Alliance is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-3377893. | © Copyright 1987 - 2025, Rainforest Alliance

Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy |

"*" indicates required fields

To get started, can you tell us your name?*
If you have operations in multiple countries, please indicate the country where your central administration is based.
Please provide an individual email address (rather than a shared inbox, i.e. info@…), so that our team can reach you.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Cause Marketing Interest Form

Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Rainforest Alliance! We collaborate with brands, businesses, and creators committed to sustainability, helping them drive impact while strengthening their brand.

Fill out the form below to explore cause marketing partnership opportunities. The more details you provide, the better we can align on a collaboration that helps create meaningful change.

Let’s make a difference for people and nature together!

"*" indicates required fields

Your Name*

Partnership Summary

Please provide as much information as possible. 

"*" indicates required fields

To get started, can you tell us your name?*
If you have operations in multiple countries, please indicate the country where your central administration is based.
Please provide an individual email address (rather than a shared inbox, i.e. info@…), so that our team can reach you.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
العربية
български
简体中文
Hrvatski
čeština
Nederlands
English
eesti keel
suomi
français
dansk
Deutsch
ελληνικά
עִבְרִית
magyar
Íslenska
Indonesia
italiano
日本語
한국어 [韓國語]
latviešu valoda
lietuvių kalba
Norsk
polski
português
limba română
српски
slovenčina
slovenščina
español
Svenska
ภาษาไทย
Türkçe
tiếng việt