What is at Stake?

The Maya forest is one of the world’s most biodiverse regions and among our last terrestrial frontiers. It is in danger of vanishing. In recent decades, Mesoamerica has seen some of the highest deforestation rates in the world; it is estimated that 80 percent of the area’s original habitat has been cleared or severely modified with the expansion of industrial agriculture. We are rapidly losing resources that are capable of meeting the agricultural needs of a growing population.

The development of modern industrial agriculture is threatening to overwhelm traditional farming practices worldwide.  Based on the ancient practices that sustained the Maya for centuries, the Maya milpa forest gardening system is in danger of being lost.  If ignored, this unique body of agricultural practice and indigenous science will be lost to the next generation.  We must take action to preserve and understand this traditional body of knowledge, or else we risk forfeiting proven sustainable solutions for food production and natural resource conservation.

Alternative models of food production that do not destroy what is left of our natural resources are urgently needed.

It IS Possible

Food production and resource conservation are treated as competing interests.  Maya forest gardens teach us that conventional agricultural systems are not the  only path to prosperity and abundance. There are alternative models for food  production where people and nature thrive together. 

The Maya agricultural system grows fields into long-lived food forests that  provide food, medicine, fiber and hardwood while preserving biodiversity,  protecting the land from soil erosion, and conserving water.

Learn more about the milpa cycle here.