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Just a twenty minute bus ride from our Cultural Survival office in Xela are the offices of the flourishing grassroots Indigenous organization Mujb’ ab’l yol. Mujb’ ab’l yol is an organization that has been working with and for Indigenous community radio in Guatemala for the past 15 years. The founders of Mujb’ab’l yol were guerrillas during the war in Guatemala. They realized the importance and power of community radio during the war when they developed a guerilla radio station, La Voz Popular, which transmitted programs about the injustices of the war, keeping families and communities informed on what was happening on a daily basis. When the war ended, this group of dedicated guerillas began to support existing community radios and build a community radio movement in Guatemala with the development of Mujb’ ab’l yol.
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A group of radio volunteers enjoying a break in the Mujb' ab'l yol courtyard.
Alberto (Tino) Recinos is one of the founders of Mujb’ ab’l yol as well as the current director . He has been described as a “symbol for the community radio movement” by many radio volunteers. What makes Tino such a staple in the movement, other than his wealth of experience and charismastic personality, is that he works both with Sobrevivencia Cultural, and Mujb’ ab’l yol. This has created a particularly strong link between the two organizations, allowing us to create and maintain a stronger and more sustainable community radio movement here in Guatemala.
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A group of volunteers working on a script for a radio spot in one of the rooms at the Capacity Building Center.
Recently, Mujb’ ab’l yol received funding to create a permanent capacity building centre, where radio volunteers can visit for overnight workshops, exchanges, meetings, and events. Over the last eight months, Mujb’ ab’l yol has transformed itself from one room into a center with two large workshop rooms, a kitchen and eating area, two large dorm rooms (one for women and the other for men), and an office. This space has already been used for a number of Mujb’ ab’l yol workshops and Sobrevivencia Cultural’s team is currently planning workshops and events to be held at the Capacity Building Center as well. This new area provides a comfortable, recognizable space for radio volunteers, and allows our team to have a space we can count on to hold events for the radio stations in our network.
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The eating area in the new Capacity Building Center. This room is also used as a second workshop space when needed.
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One of the dorm rooms at the Capacity Building Center.
Mujb’ ab’l yol has goals to expand and improve this Capacity Building Center that are already in the works. Tino and the Mujb’ ab’l yol team are even planning on adding a small museum with all of the recordings from La Voz Popular, his guerilla radio station during the war. Sobrevivencia wishes to celebrate Mujb’ ab’l yol’s great achievements by sharing the story of their growth and success. We look forward to lots of fruitful workshops and teambuilding experiences at this fantastic new center.
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Community radio volunteers participating in a team building activity at a recent workshop.
