Impact
Support Our Mission: Real Conservation at Lake Atitlán
Wellkind Guatemala plants over 100,000 trees annually in the Lake Atitlán watershed. We’re not a tour company offering volunteer add-ons. We’re an environmental NGO doing long-term reforestation work with Indigenous communities in the highlands.
Founded by locals who’ve worked in this region for over a decade, Wellkind partners directly with farmers and community leaders to restore watersheds, protect water sources, and create sustainable income through agroforestry. This is locally-led conservation that lasts.
All Towns
What We Do
Reforestation Programs
We work with Indigenous families in the highlands above Lake Atitlán to plant native tree species that restore degraded land, prevent erosion, and protect the lake’s water quality. Every tree is planted by local hands and monitored for survival.
Watershed Protection
Lake Atitlán’s water comes from the surrounding mountains. When those hillsides erode, the lake suffers. Our programs focus on stabilizing slopes, improving soil health, and keeping sediment out of the water.
Community Partnerships
We don’t parachute in with solutions. Wellkind partners with farmers who know this land, providing native seedlings and technical support for agroforestry systems that generate income while rebuilding forests.
How You Can Help
Donate to Reforestation
Your contribution directly funds native tree seedlings, technical training for farmers, and long-term monitoring. We’re building toward a sustainable small donor base that supports consistent conservation year-round.
Volunteer During Your Visit
If you’re traveling to Lake Atitlán with a group, you can arrange a planting day with Wellkind. We work with schools, Rotary clubs, and organizations interested in combining travel with meaningful environmental work. Contact us for group volunteer opportunities.
Stay Connected
Sign up for impact updates to see where your support goes. We share planting reports, photos from the field, and stories from the communities we work with.
This is conservation work that matters. Not feel-good tourism. Real reforestation led by people who live here and will be here long after visitors leave.
Lake Atitlán Rotary Club
We’re members of the Rotary Club of Lake Atitlán, a group of local and international Rotarians working on health, education, and economic development projects across the lake region.
The club runs global grants focused on maternal and infant health in rural highland communities, supports educational programs like computer literacy in remote villages, and organizes health days providing medical services to underserved populations rotaryatitlan. They also partner with local NGOs doing grassroots work in the communities around Lake Atitlán.
If you’re a Rotarian interested in fellowship travel or project visits to Guatemala, the Lake Atitlán club welcomes visitors year-round. They host an annual Rotary Travel Adventure each spring that includes project site visits, cultural activities, and their Mardi Gras Gala fundraiser in Panajachel.
La Puerta Abierta
La Puerta Abierta is a progressive learning center in Santiago Atitlán focused on literacy outreach and meaningful education for children and families. Founded in 2007 by a retired teacher and former Peace Corps volunteer, the organization runs a creative PreK-6th grade school, traveling library program that serves six community schools, reading circles for teens, and supports a mothers’ artisan cooperative.
The center embraces three languages—Spanish, English, and Tz’utujil—and welcomes families from all backgrounds. Their traveling library brings books and interactive literacy activities to local schools weekly, helping classroom teachers incorporate reading into their curriculum while children develop critical thinking skills.
The mothers’ artisan group creates handmade products using traditional Guatemalan techniques. Profits from sales go directly to the artisans to support their children’s education at La Puerta Abierta, with remaining funds deposited into a scholarship fund for all families.
Student groups and travelers visiting Santiago Atitlán can arrange visits to see the school’s innovative programs in action. It’s one of the most genuine educational projects at the lake.