The Community of Copal AA La Esperanza was born as a collective village of multicultural and multilingual communities, organized and founded by community leaders of returned groups from Mexico. The community is located 87 kilometers from the Municipality of Cobán at the northern part of the Department of Alta Verapaz, located in the northern region of Guatemala on the shores of the River Chioxy where, according to the census of 2025, 126 families reside, forming a total of 900 residents where the languages Mam, Q’anjob’al, Q’eqchi’ y el K’iche’ are spoken. The principal economic activity is agriculture—mostly beans, corn, plantains, cardamom and a variety of fruits, both for local consumption as well as for sale—and handmade products.

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​​The word “Copal,” a common term among Indigenous communities, describes a type of tree that produces resin from which incense is obtained. It's an important substance used in spiritual exercises.

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In the three Maya languages most commonly used in the community, the letter “A” is often used to refer to water (Agua). The double capital A is used to refer to the plural of the word water in various Indigenous languages. The community adopted this name because of its location: a hundred meters from the Pacaya Stream, the River Copalá and the River Chixoy, one of the largest rivers in Guatemala

 

The word Esperanza symbolizes prosperity and social well-being of the community in the future.

 

The combination of the words “Copal AA La Esperanza” unites the transcendental symbols in the life of the Original Nations or Indigenous villages. Copal is a symbol of connection with spirituality and how it offers divinity: the aromatic smoke of the incense creates the identity of the group living at the shores of the waters, as an element of life, of fertility and the products of Mother Nature for our future survival.

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From this context, 2004 – 2012, Copal AA developed a strong education for students at the level “Básico,” with the school “Centro de Formación Integral Instituto Básico Nuevo Amanecer.” In 2013, the school was renamed “Instituto Privado de Educación Básica Nuevo Amanecer (IPEBNA)” due to the Ministry of Education's lack of political support for institutions created by such cooperatives such as IPEBNA.  The school became a private, nonprofit school, which continued to respond to the educational needs of the youth of Copal AA and those of the neighboring communities, from which the majority of students who have graduated from primary school have no options for further study, given that the alternatives are far away, outside the family's financial resources, and/or don't correspond to the students' educational goals.

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From 2004, the school has had more than 22 years of collective work in sustaining and giving life to the project of community education. The community is happy to have arrived where it is. They haven't given up. In fact, they have learned much. They are more organized and more aware. They continue to fight for the education of children and youth which is part of the development of the community. The community school is a place of encounter, where confidence is developed and life is celebrated; where the community youth and its teachers look for the dignity of historical memory with open minds and critical thought. There is a shared understanding of the reality of our past and the promise of being able to change it through peaceful processes of shared strength, love, and solidarity.