Relocation: the new village of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan
On January 11th, 2000, the
people of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan packed up their homes, carried their
belongings more than 15 kilometres away, up the hills of Highland Guatemala, and
established a new village. Driven by recurrent tremors and the devastation of
Hurricane Mitch in November 1998 (during which 2 people died and 
much of the town was
demolished by rampaging rivers and mudslides), the citizens of Ixtahuacan were
faced with a grueling 
mountaintop
nicknamed "Alaska" because of the morning frost. Pushed by fear of
cracks in their homes and divisions among themselves, the leaders of the village
persuaded the villagers to move. The following photo essay is about this
difficult decision.
