Yaxcabá: Puppet theatre as an environmental strategy in remote communities

Young people in the rural areas of El Triunfo do not have real opportunities for development, and most of them migrate or start a family at an early age. These communities, as they are located within a biosphere reserve, are visited by environmental education groups, generally from the city of Tuxtla, with high transportation and logistics costs. The YAXCABÁ Group is an alternative to the two challenges mentioned; on the one hand, it is a local group of young people who, through puppet theatre, produce environmental education works and bring conservation stories to children and adults in the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in an efficient and effective way; and on the other hand, they provide a development alternative for creative young people in the region.

 

Yaxcabá is a clear example of how a group of young people have succeeded in transforming themselves, overcoming obstacles, and through theatre and entertainment, mobilizing people and changing behaviour to preserve one of the most biodiverse regions on earth.