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Beginning in 2002 Kevin Hamm began a project in Guatemala consisting of teaching botanists how to access the rain forest canopy. The project began by donating 3 full sets of climbing equipment and a week of training that culminated in a forest climb in the cloud forest of El Biatopo del Quetzal, a forest preserve in central Guatemala dedicated to preserving the habitat of Guatemala's national bird the Quetzal. The 2004 project brought more equipment, training and a trip into the remote Sierras de las Minas, a cloud forest above 8,000 feet of elevation. The oak tree (Quercus sapateafolia) being climbed in the pictures was approximately 8' diameter at breast height. Please click on the pictures below to enlarge them.

For the 2005 project, Kevin became a proctor for the International Society of Arboriculture and brought three certification tests down for his primary students. If you search for a certified arborist on the ISA web site, you will now find one in Guatemala thanks to this project. This trip culminated with a forest climb in the beauiful Cerro San Gil forest preserve on the Gulf of Honduras.

In January, 2006, David Mendieta will be traveling to Mexico to complete his studies at the University of San Carlos, Guatemala. He will be utilizing the climbing skills and equipment that he aquired through this project. Additionally, another student is completing a study comparing traditional research climbing techniques with the new less invasive and safer methods taught through this project.

Now there is the potential for an academic course for credit featuring tree climbing techniques for canopy research. Below are pictures from a recent outing with students to Cerro San Gil. Jorge Mario Vargas, the first ISA Certified Arborist in Guatemala, is pictured second from the right in the group picture below. Jorge teaches at The University of San Carlos in Guatemala City, one of the oldest institutions in the Americas.

September 2006 Update:

The next phase of this project involves David Mendieta’s final academic project to obtain his degree. He will be working with the Quichi people in the Totonicapan area of Guatemala. This is a fairly inclusive group of people who are in control of large areas of forests. The under story of many of these forests have been grazed heavily by livestock and there is little regeneration taking place. There is a need for seed collecting in this area to establish a seed bank and begin a nursery process to help the regeneration of the forest. Seed collecting requires climbing to the very top of 120 to 150 foot fir trees to collect the fragile cones. Part of David’s project in this area is to train some of the native people to climb. He also wishes to provide at least two sets of climbing equipment to individuals within this community. This will enable the people to develop a new source of income as many outside research individuals are also interested in seed collecting and would consequently buy from the seed bank or hire native climber’s to obtain seeds from specific trees. This will bring a new form of income to a deprived area as well as assist in the process of forest regeneration.

If you have an interest in this project and would like to contribute financially to the cause, Kevin Hamm is facilitating this as a mission effort through Grace Bible Church in Portage, WI. Grace Bible Church is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization and monetary gifts are tax deductible. Checks can be made out to Grace Bible Church with a memo stating “Guatemala Project” and can be mailed to:

Grace Bible Church
PO Box 534
Portage, WI 53901

Should you contribute, Kevin will mail you personally with an update of the project. The trip is tentative for mid November of 2006. Thank you for your consideration.

March 2007 Update:

Well, time has passed quickly since November. Our trip to Guatemala went well. We brought down approximately $5,000.00 worth of climbing equipment that was donated to an indigenous group of people in the Totonicapán area of central Guatemala. The only let down was that I was not able to be involved in delivering the equipment due to some social concerns in the area at the time of our visit. In fact, there was a “town hall” meeting on a particular issue, and 15,000 people showed up for the meeting--some of them walking great distances (Oh, that our town hall meetings would generate such involvement). Americans are not very trusted in this area due to their historical associations with mining operations. Emotions were very high and my appearance at that time would have likely been misinterpreted by many. It was explained to me that I would be like a worm in an ant colony. If you have never seen that, I will tell you, it doesn’t end well for the worm.

My friend David Mendieta was able to deliver the equipment a few weeks later when things had quieted down. The picture below represents that event. David is the one in the middle with the heavy down coat. They are close to 9,000 feet of elevation and a cold front was moving through. Temperatures were in the 30’s. It is not always nice in Guatemala. I want to thank those of you who participated financially in this project. Those who received the benefit of the equipment were very grateful. We are in the process of securing work visas to utilize labor from Guatemala to both help here as well as continue projects within communities from where those workers come. Currently, our paperwork is being reviewed by the US Dept. of Labor. We are at their mercy for the approval of four visas. We are praying for success in this venture. Thank you again for your support.

November 2009 Update:

For fund raising we will be selling high altitude, hard bean coffee from the Hue Hue Tenango region of Guatemala. This is single source coffee contracted directly through my contact David Mendieta. David is an agronomy botanist who works with small farmers who are maintaining strict and responsible production methods. This is actually a superior selection process to even free trade coffee which works with co-ops. Much of the free trade money does not get to the original farmers. This is in alignment with our mission to bring economic assistance to indigenous groups within the country. Our next project will likely be a forestry emphasis in the Totonicapan region where we donated two complete sets of climbing equipment in 2006.

The coffee beans will be available in one pound bags for $18/pound* plus postage. We will take pre-orders for December deliveries prior to Christmas. All of the proceeds of the coffee promoted through this news letter and our web site will go to the Guatemala project which will be administered by Grace Bible Church in Portage, WI. Donations in addition to coffee purchases can be directed to the church.

*Existing customers can refer to the latest newsletter for further pricing.