Hola! We are the current team of the ‘Guatemala Cloud Chasers’: Yoselin, Sara, Luis,
Marloes, Job, Julia, Eliane and Kaatje.
The past month our team has gathered in Guatemala, welcomed by the country’s ‘eternal
spring’. With some of us living here, others spending some weeks learning Spanish, and
others freshly coming from the Netherlands; we are now finally complete! Complete, and
ready to start working on our project on ‘cloud forests’.
Cloud forests are often compared to rainforests due to their high levels of precipitation.
However, being located at higher elevations, cloud forests receive much of their moisture
directly from the clouds that drift through the canopy. In the coming months, we will build a
monitoring tower to research the hydrological cycle of these ecosystems—following water as
it moves through air, rainfall, soil, rivers, and mist. However, to deepen this understanding,
the interconnectedness between water and other elements can not be overlooked. What
roles do cloud forests —and the unique hydrological cycles within them— play in sustaining
biodiversity, regulating carbon, producing food, and holding cultural or spiritual meaning?
These forests are vital ecosystems where water, life, and community are deeply intertwined.
Yet, threats such as deforestation and climate change are putting immense pressure on
cloud forests, impacting both ecological functions and the lives of the people who depend on
them. Through our research as the Cloud Chasers, we aim to deepen understanding of
these complex relationships and contribute to the protection of cloud forests and all that they
bring.
Coming from different countries and study backgrounds, we hope to contribute different
ideas and perspectives to our research. However, the most important source of knowledge
on Cloud Forests comes from the people here in Altaverapaz. Q’eqchi’ Maya mainly form the
population in this region of Guatemala’s central highlands. To truly understand the cloud
forests, one must also begin to understand the Maya worldview—where ecosystems and
land are not separate from people, but part of a deeply interwoven and reciprocal
relationship. As with a river, the connections between upstream and downstream are vital. In
our first weeks, we have already had the opportunity to interact with and learn from many
inspiring Q’eqchi’ people at our home base: the Community Cloud Forest Conservation
(CCFC).
Guatemala Cloud Chasers
