Our Story

Casagua seeks to weave networks with human and non-human communities in the Ixil Region, land of montane forest on the slopes of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, the highest non-volcanic mountains in Mesoamerica.

Since the start of 2025, Casagua has provided weekly environmental education workshops for children and young people in our organic garden and space of art and creativity on the slopes of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, in the heart of Guatemala’s Maya Ixil Region. We use music, drama and art to achieve holistic educational engagement and environmental connection.

Casagua began some years before, as seeds were planted and plans were made during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Casagua’s co-founders, Catriona Spaven-Donn and Checha Morales, met in Nebaj in 2019 and shared ideas and dreams of engaging children, young people and communities in nature connection, protection and appreciation. In 2020, they moved to the house Checha had begun building previously and started regenerating the garden, growing vegetables, planting pollinator flowers, welcoming children for socially distanced outdoor activities and painting murals.

Over the past six years, Cat and Checha have developed many artistic and agroecological projects in their house and garden. Cat has completed part-time postgraduate studies in Outdoor Environmental Education at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where she’s from. She also works with a Scottish rewilding and nature regeneration organisation while co-directing Casagua. Checha was born and grew up in Nebaj and is the owner of a well-known bakery in the town. He is passionate about organic food growing, carpentry, painting and learning more about Mayan cultural identity and the indigenous cosmovision.

At Casagua, our goal is to support our community’s knowledge, understanding and action around agroecological growing, food sovereignty, soil health, seed saving, climate action and biodiversity protection. We also incorporate key themes related to gender equality, positive masculinities and nutrition as part of our integral focus on health and wellbeing.