Rodrigo Tot

{{Short description|Guatemalan agriculture expert}} {{Infobox person | name = Rodrigo Tot | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = c.1958 | birth_place = Laj Chimel, Quiché, Guatemala | death_date = | death_place = | monuments = | nationality = | other_names = | education = None | alma_mater = | occupation = farmer and indigenous leader | years_active = 1974–present | employer = | organization = | agent = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | television = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = Goldman Environmental Prize }}

'''Rodrigo Tot''' (born c.1958) is a farmer and indigenous leader in Guatemala.

Tot is a member of the Q'eqchi' people. He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2017 for his efforts to protect the land of his community from the environmental damages of mining.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2175841/these-6-activists-are-risking-it-all-name-environmental-justice |title=These 6 Activists Are Risking It All in the Name of Environmental Justice |website=outsideonline.com |first=Shawnté |last=Salabert |date=23 April 2017 |accessdate=25 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/rodrigo-tot/ |title=Rodrigo Tot. 2017 Goldman Prize Recipient South and Central America |website=goldmanprize.org |accessdate=25 July 2017}}</ref>

==Early life== Tot was born in Quiché, Guatemala just before the mining rush of the 60s. Tot lost both of his parents at a young age and went to live with extended family in Agua Caliente at age 12.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/rodrigo-tot/ | title=Rodrigo Tot - Goldman Environmental Prize | date=18 March 2022 }}</ref>

==Career== ===Farming=== In 1985, Tot, along with 63 other indigenous farmers in his community, received a property title to work on the land in their community. Three years later, however, records of these titles disappeared, and, when the final payments for the title were made, the people were denied the legal title of the land.

In 2004, two years after the farmers were denied the right to their land, the Guatemalan government granted a mining license for a region covering 16 Mayan communities.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} After the mining takeover, the Q'eqchi set out to fight for their land rights in court. In 2011, the group won their lawsuit and the Guatemalan Constitutional Court issued a landmark decision that recognized the Q'eqchi people's property rights.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2017/04/24/guatemalan-land-activist-wins-goldman-prize |title=A Guatemalan indigenous land rights activist wins the Goldman Environmental Prize |website=pri.org |first=David |last=Leveille |date=24 April 2017 }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tot, Rodrigo}} Category:Guatemalan people of Maya descent Category:20th-century Guatemalan people Category:Indigenous peoples of South America and the environment Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:North American environmentalists Category:Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Category:1950s births Category:Hispanic and Latino American environmentalists