OUR TEAM
Jorge Armando López Pocol
Founder and Director
Director and visionary since day one, Armando has led the Chico Mendes Reforestation Project for 28 years with unmatched dedication and determination. Grounded in his commitment to environmental justice, he has fearlessly guided the project through political obstacles, forest fires, and resource constraints. Working with student volunteers from Pachaj's public school, Armando inspires the next generation of indigenous Guatemalans to stand up for their rights and reverse centuries of racial discrimination.
As a fourteen-year-old, Armando reluctantly dropped out of school to earn money for his family. Nevertheless, he continued his education reading books and sneaking into university lectures in his free time. Over the years, he worked a number of jobs to support his family, from bicycle mechanic and semiprofessional bicycle racer to weaver to cow herder. In addition to leading the Chico Mendes Reforestation Project, Armando is involved with numerous local environmental and community activist organizations in Quetzaltenango.
In 2015, Armando fulfilled his dream of traveling to the United States when he spent nearly two months spreading the Chico Mendes philosophy during the 2015 Speaking Tour. With the help of international volunteers, Armando inspired over 2000 people at 35 events held in universities and activist organizations across the country. He hopes to organize another tour in 2018. If you're lucky enough to visit Chico Mendes, you will find Armando whacking weeds with a machete at a reforestation site, watering plants in el vivero (the tree nursery), riding his horse, Tornado, through Cantel, and chatting with volunteers about water privatization and indigenous rights over dinner.
Juan Pablo Sacche
Viverista (Tree Nursery Manager) Viverista (Tree Nursery Manager)
Juan skillfully leads and trains local and international volunteers in caring for trees in el vivero (the tree nursery) and reforesting the mountains of Cantel. He joined Chico Mendes in 2020, standing out from day one for his deep love for nature and his commitment to reforestation. As a former Adventure Treks Guide, he and Armando have become fundamental pillars of the project in recent years. He is currently in charge of the maintenance and processes of the Chico Mendes project.
Toly Lopez
Administration & Volunteer Experience Coordinator
Toly is the son of Armando López. He grew up learning from his father’s example, his work ethic, and his struggle. Today, following all of his father’s teachings, Toly has joined the project. He joined Chico Mendes in 2025 when he was 17 years old. He currently focuses on logistics, education, and above all, being great company for the international and local youth who visit the project. He studies Public Auditing and Accounting and shares his knowledge to manage the internal administration of the project and to coordinate the stay of our volunteers.
He always recognizes the work of others and upholds the same philosophy as his father: to be your friend in the project and to do everything possible to make you feel at home. Toly is the new face of the project, following in Armando’s footsteps.
Stapley Curwen
Peace Corps Volunteer - Project Collaborator
Stapley is a volunteer from the Peace Corps, an organization that promotes volunteer service with local communities. Her role is to support the project in every area — not only with her physical capacity, but also with her intelligence and charisma. At 24 years old, Stapley has become another Forest Guardian — as we call our group of individuals that fights every day for a better planet. She will not only be your companion and guide, but also the person you will share your day-to-day with. With her, you will learn to love nature in a different way. Stapley is not just
a volunteer, she is family. Her qualities in all areas of work, both physical and mental, and her spirit as part of the team make her a great person and an invaluable part of Chico Mendes.
Claudia Nicté Vásquez López
Logistics and Training Coordinator - Collaborator
Nicté began planting trees and filling soil bags with Chico Mendes as a ten-year-old. At seventeen, she became a Spanish teacher at the Chico Mendes Language School and later worked as an Adventure Treks Guide. While volunteering with a trekking organization based in Xela from 2009-2014,
leading hikes and managing logistics, she studied tourism at the Instituto Técnico de Capacitación y Productividad (INTECAP).Through INTECAP, she took classes in Guatemalan history, ecology, art, and tourism, and traveled to tourist destinations all over Guatemala. She is probably the only indigenous woman in Quetzaltenango who is an INGUAT-certified trek guide. Nicté reflects on INTECAP as one of the best experiences of her life; she not only graduated with a diploma, but also with a deeper understanding of her country.Nicté was a fundamental part of our history, but she did not remain just a memory. Today, even while working for a major company, she continues to be one of our key collaborators in logistics, coordination and training, and above all, one of the great pillars of Chico Mendes — of yesterday and today.
Paulina Claudia López Alvarado
Teacher at IMEBCH, Homestay Organizer
Claudia (Armando's wife) welcomes into her family all who come to learn and volunteer with Chico Mendes. A history teacher at the Instituto de Educación Básica por Cooperativa Choquiac (IMEBCH) of Pachaj, Claudia began bringing her students to Chico Mendes in 2004. In her classes, she first prepares students to volunteer with Chico Mendes through teaching the theory behind environmental reforestation work. Thanks to Claudia and Armando's partnership, Chico Mendes thrives as both a project and a tight-knit family of volunteers from Pachaj and beyond.
Pachaj Homestay Families
Since 2004, families have welcomed visitors from across the globe into their homes and lives. Visitors learn the ins and outs of life in a rural Guatemalan village through playing fútbol (soccer) with homestay siblings, preparing handmade tortillas with homestay moms, and joining the families for local cultural events.
meet the needs and interests of each individual student, and love to set up class in the forested Chico Mendes cabanas on sunny days. Open and flexible, teachers readily organize experiential learning activities, from museum visits in Xela and interviews with veterans from the Guatemalan Civil War, to Guatemalan cooking classes and market explorations in Salcajá.
Language School Teachers
Since 2006, Chico Mendes' team of fifteen language school teachers have taught Spanish and K'iche' to students from across the globe. All teachers have received 180 hours of training in Spanish grammar and an additional 180 hours of training in K'iche', as well as 16 different courses on topics ranging from Guatemalan history to climate change to Mayan cosmovision. Teachers design dynamic lessons that
Local Cantel Water Committees
Citizen-led committees reforest around natural mountain springs to protect potable water sources. Chico Mendes works with three to four committees per year, providing them with the supplies and instruction to plant and take care of their own reforestation sites. Each year, local water committees plant 3,000-5,000 trees grown in the Chico Mendes nursery.
International Volunteers
Each year, over 150 volunteers visit Chico Mendes to learn about our work and give us a hand. Volunteers help us significantly advance on numerous projects, from planting trees to English translation to website management. Some volunteers also continue to support us from afar, through fundraising and publicity efforts in their home countries.
Pachaj Student Volunteers
Each day from January through November, ten to thirty students from the Instituto de Educación Básica por Cooperativa Choquiac (IMEBCH) of Pachaj volunteer for four hours planting trees, filling soil bags, weeding, and pruning. Since 2004, over 3600 students have learned about reforestation, climate change, and indigenous rights, as well as significantly advanced the goals of the project with their hard work and enthusiasm.