How Ecovillages Contribute to Gentrification and Exploitation in Lake Atitlan

A broad consensus exists on how our communities should live in the face of climate change, resource scarcity, and radical social change. Ecovillages and conscious communities are considered a model for a more sustainable, future-oriented lifestyle, as described by the American philosopher Robert Gilman, who referred to them as "human-scale, full-featured settlements in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future." Their activities help people live fulfilling lives while reducing their environmental impact, even in industrialized countries.

San Marcos La Laguna is a village on the western shore of Lago Atitlán in the Sololá department of Guatemala, a region known for its sacred lake and lush landscapes. It functions as a settlement for eco-villages and conscious/spiritual communities, welcoming spiritual seekers as early as the 1970s. However, the place has seen uncontrolled tourism development in recent years, sparking outrage among social media users after a viral TikTok video was shared on Twitter in late March. In the video, an American woman living in Atitlán showcased her daily life in a "Conscious Community." This video illustrates the colonial tourism, exploitation, and gentrification that foreign projects like eco-villages and spiritual communities have sparked in the region. Moreover, while eco-villages appear to be thriving and regarded as utopias by many, their very existence in Guatemala represents a new form of colonialism and exploitation.

Ecovillages, also known as "intentional communities," aim to promote a more socially, culturally, economically, and ecologically sustainable way of life. This philosophy is based on the belief that humans and nature are interconnected, and thus, sustainable living and cultural transformation should come before urbanization, speed, and contemporary definitions of development. In response to the environmental problems produced by industrial development, the ecological movement emerged in the 1970s, and two decades later, the first ecovillages appeared as forms of voluntary social organization whose members were committed to living in a more ecological and communal way.

Today, with society facing new and serious challenges involving climate change and a violent capitalist system, joining an ecovillage is something many consider. There are currently more than 10,000 ecovillages located across the five continents, and the Global Ecovillage Network, shows growth in the movement trend. Communities may differ greatly in organizational, hierarchical, and philosophical ways, providing a variety of choices for those who are interested in living a communal lifestyle for the sake of sustainability.

However, not everything goes according to plan, as Vitaliy Solovey reports in an article entitled "Can these communities help solve environmental challenges?" Some of them have become mere tourist attractions, and their residents have become seduced by fuel-powered cars and malls, slowly changing the character of their communities into typical towns and cities. This is just one example of how the concept of sustainable communities can become distorted and give space to other significant problems, as seen in the case of San Marcos La Laguna in Guatemala.

Social media users were outraged by a viral TikTok depicting a "conscious" village community in Guatemala that makes light of colonial tourism, exploitation of locals, and gentrification. This video provides a glimpse into the life of Rusk, a white woman living in a conscious community in the Guatemalan mountains, in which she shows off some of the "cultural activities" taking place, such as fire ceremonies, aerial yoga, meditation, flow arts, and workshops, among others. The entire cast of the video is comprised of white foreigners. In the video, the most controversial part involves her receiving a meal from an indigenous woman, the only native person who appears in the video. 

After being shared on Twitter, the video went viral, gaining over 5 million views and tens of thousands of comments criticizing white people generally for exploiting and gentrifying Guatemala while its indigenous residents are fleeing in droves due to poverty. "Not only are these white hippies contributing to gentrification/displacement of indigenous people, but they're even going as far as crowd-funding to 'acquire more land around the (sacred) lake and encouraging others to join them. The colonizer gene is f* strong," wrote one user, referring to the Tribal Village. This organization describes itself on its internet homepage as a "consciously evolving eco-village and empowerment center on Lake Atitlan in symbiosis with Mother Earth." This association is organizing fundraisers to purchase more land around the lake for additional members, according to its website.

The expansion of these projects undoubtedly stimulates the local economy, but there is much more to unveil on the negative side for locals. The ancient Lake Atitlán is, for many travelers, the best way to be introduced to indigenous culture in the highlands of Western Guatemala, and its largest town is almost entirely dependent on tourism. The dynamic in which the lake receives a high influx of tourists, and the indigenous communities (which constitute 95% of the population) consider this tourism as the primary source of income, makes it appear as if the coexistence of both is as beneficial and equal.

Since the cost of living is considerably lower in the region than in their home countries, foreigners are more likely to come here not only as tourists but as residents and business owners as well. It is in this sense that gentrification takes place, like hotels, villas, restaurants, and spaces used as settlements for ecovillages and conscious communities owned by foreigners who shamefully deny shoreline access to locals while attracting tourists with "creative" themes (that are often a blend of indigenous elements). While these accommodations are offered by foreigners, to other foreigners and wealthier individuals in Guatemala, serving as a retirement luxury to connect with nature and giving a space for spiritual practices, it transforms the lake into a colonized space by an illegitimate foreign presence.

It is despairing that a lake that has belonged to indigenous communities for centuries is no longer theirs but belongs to the highest bidder, whose land and resources are bought or given away to white, wealthy foreigners. Ecovillages were hailed for their social innovation initiatives and a philosophy that blends nature, human development, and cultural transformation, but their existence in developing nations has raised concerns about who benefits from these kinds of communities. 

As these projects are seen as "urgent," and the global notion is that they promote sustainable development, there is not enough discussion regarding the lands on which they settle. Indigenous lands belong to indigenous people, and the big number of individuals arriving in Guatemala looking for spiritual enlightenment and an ecologically sustainable way of communal living are not only taking advantage of the lake and the natural resources it has to offer but also of the vulnerable position of the indigenous communities that surround it. Transforming in this sense the concept of sustainable living into a non-inclusive reality.