Fourteen members of the Lake of the Hills Rotary Club will spend eight days in Ak'Tenamit, from March 26 through April 3, assembling a combined hydroponic and aquaculture system that will grow edible greens and tilapia fish at the same time.

The goal of the project is to produce tilapia to feed approximately 500 students in the Ak' Tenamit school, to supplement the rice and beans that they eat now. Eventually the community hopes to use extra fish to barter for other goods.

 

 

Ak’Tenamit, located on the Rio Dulce, is an indigenous owned and operated nonprofit association that serves more than 100 remote Mayan villages. The association includes a jungle school and provides health services for about 6,000 people. The school offers a practical, vocational education suited to the children's rural lifestyle.

Lake of the Hills Rotary Club has been involved with other clubs in several projects in Ak'Tenamit over the past six years. This is the club's first solo project in Ak'Tenamit. The equipment was purchased in Milwaukee, where members learned how to assemble and maintain the system. On this trip, club members will deliver the equipment and teach the Ak'Tenamit people how to use the system.

Spanish-language books to be sent to the Ak' Tenamit school will be collected during the District Conference next month.