Maria Pacheco is the founder of Wakami World, businesses dedicated to linking rural communities to markets, as a way to generate a prosperity that starts in the remote villages of Guatemala, and other countries in the future. Currently, Wakami World, and its partner organizations – Kiej de los Bosques and Communities of the Earth, are incubating 18 rural companies, which will incorporate 600 rural women to markets.

Maria was also co-designer of a National Program for Economic Development, which was an IDB/World Bank loan of $60 million for Guatemala. This program is designed to provide 300 rural groups with the technical assistance and public infrastructure required for national and international success.

Maria has also been a consultant for United Nations Foundation, in developing a program to generate sources of income for communities living in or around natural World Heritage Sites, at the same time they protect the ecosystem. A fullbright scholar with a masters degree in agriculture from Cornell University, Maria served as co-founder and first female president of the Guatemalan Rural Entrepeneurship Association (AGER), and is part of the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network, belonging to the Central American Initiative (CALI). Last june, Maria with other Aspen fellows , launched the VITAL VOICES Central American Network, to facilitate that WOMENS VOICES in the region be heard!! May 25, a Central American summit will take place, with 500 women participating.

Maria will be publishing a book, Wakami`s Gate that shares her life journey with rural communities in Guatemala, and the amazing lesson this journey has brought not just for her, but for other people in the world, interested in LIVING IN A PLACE WITH PEACE AND LIGHT . . . AND LOVE!!