Chahal, Guatemala facts for kids

Quick facts for kids San Fernando Nuevo Chahal
Chahal, Guatemala Location in Guatemala
Country	Guatemala
Department	Alta Verapaz
Climate	Af

Chahal is a town in Guatemala. It's located in the Alta Verapaz area. The name "Chahal" comes from the ancient Maya people. It's a special kind of town called a municipality.

Discovering Chahal's Past

Spanish Arrival and Peaceful Conversion

When the Spanish arrived in Guatemala, a friar named Bartolomé de las Casas had a different idea. He wanted to teach the Christian faith peacefully. He believed in treating everyone equally. He also thought people should choose to convert, not be forced.

Las Casas chose a tough area in Guatemala for his plan. This area was known as the "Land of War." No Spanish colonies were there yet. The governor of Guatemala agreed to let Las Casas try his peaceful method. He promised not to build new settlements there if it worked.

Las Casas and his group of friars started their work. They went to towns like Rabinal and Cobán, reaching as far as Chahal. Because of their efforts, the "Land of War" became known as "Verapaz". This means "True Peace".

Their strategy was clever. They taught Christian songs to local traders. These traders then shared the songs in the area. This helped them convince several native leaders to join them. They also built churches in the region now called Alta Verapaz.

The Northern Development Strip

Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). The "Franja Transversal del Norte" (FTN) was a special area in northern Guatemala. It was set up for agricultural development. This means the government wanted to grow more crops there.

One of the first projects in the FTN was in Sebol-Chinajá. This area was important because of the Cancuén river. This river connected to other parts of Guatemala and Mexico. In 1958, the Inter-American Development Bank helped fund projects there.

Later, in 1970, the Northern Transversal Strip was officially created. This was done by a special law from the government. The goal was to help farming grow in this part of the country.

Growing African Oil Palm

African oil palm plantation areas in Guatemala as of 2014.

There is a big need for cooking oils and fats in Guatemala. This is why the African oil palm has become very common. It's grown to make palm oil.

Many companies are investing in growing palm oil. They want Guatemala to become a major exporter of this oil. Even if the international price goes down, they keep investing.

You can find many palm oil farms in the FTN area. Places like Chisec and Cobán in Alta Verapaz Department are active. Also, Ixcán in Quiché Department and Sayaxché in Petén Department have large farms. Another important area is Fray Bartolomé de las Casas and Chahal in Alta Verapaz.

Chahal's Climate

Chahal has a tropical climate. This means it's warm all year round. It also gets a lot of rain. This type of climate is called Af in the Köppen climate system.

Where Chahal is Located

	Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, municipality of Alta Verapaz Department	San Luis, municipality of El Petén Department and Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, municipality of Alta Verapaz Department
	Fray Bartolomé de las Casas and Cahabón, municipalities of Alta Verapaz Department		El Estor, municipality of Izabal
		Chahal
		Cahabón, municipality of Alta Verapaz Department

See also

In Spanish: Chahal para niños