Maya Agroecology for Defending Native Seeds and Homelands
Since 2019, the Community Agroecology Network (CAN) and Ka’ Kuxtal Much Meyaj (Ka’ Kuxtal), with support from the Seeds, Soil & Culture Fund, have collaborated to articulate and strengthen Maya Agroecology in Campeche, Mexico, with the principal objectives of (1) integrating youth into community organization, (2) elevating Maya women’s ancestral contribution to the knowledge and practice of agroecology, and (3) defending native seeds and Maya homelands. Capitalist expansion of agri-business, especially soybean, in the Yucatan Peninsula has dispossessed indigenous communities of land, labor, and culture. Each of the project objectives is central for achieving indigenous autonomy and land stewardship based in Maya culture and food systems.
Ka’ Kuxtal Much Meyaj is an indigenous organization formed by nine Yucateco Maya communities in the region of Los Chenes, Campeche, Mexico. For 11 years Ka’ Kuxtal has worked to defend and recuperate traditional agricultural varieties from the milpa, such as native corn, ‘cerdo ix’pelón’ (a creole hairless pig), and meliponas (native honey-producing bees). As part of this effort, Ka’ Kuxtal organizes an annual Native Seed Festival in the Yucatan Peninsula, connecting conservation of biodiversity to a revitalization of cultural memory and agricultural ceremony.
Ceiba Tree Youth Vision Poster; artwork by Diana Morales arte.es.medicina
In a CAN (and network partner) facilitated Food Sovereignty Learning Community, Ka’ Kuxtal piloted a project to articulate and strengthen Maya Agroecology. The pilot was a first step in developing a culturally-relevant method of dialogue and reflection to co-create a shared concept of Maya Agroecology based in the traditional and spiritual practices of Maya farmers and their historical resistance to colonization.
Project outcomes: a collective conceptualization of Maya Agroecology, changes in knowledge and practice, participation of women and youth, action plans ready for implementation, and popular education tools. Together, our work will revitalize Maya food systems that have inspired the practice of agroecology worldwide and will serve as a foundation for indigenous autonomy and the defense of native seeds and land in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Phase 1: Youth-led documentation of traditional agroecological practices in relation to culture, spirituality, and local economy.
Phase 2: Collective reflection and analysis of the cultural, spiritual, and economic dimensions of Maya Agroecology.
Phase 3: Development of youth and women-led action plans to revitalize Maya Agroecology and the cultural and economic practices that sustain it.
1) Community-based analysis about the contributions of youth and women in the regeneration of traditional farming practices.
2) Using a Maya Agroecological framework to reflect on agroecology and traditional farming practices.
3) Merging regional milpa family efforts to defend Maya territory into a network, “The Resistance That Echoes Maya Wisdom.”
4) Using Maya agroecological practices, Maya campesinx converted 100 ha of ejido traditional lands from hybrid seeds and agrochemical use to native seeds.
Phase 1: Mapping of experiences and relationships in milpa practices and the impacts of the agro-industrial system on soils, agro-biodiversity, water, land tenure, and seeds.
Phase 2: Convene regional encuentros with youth, women, and milpa families. Participate in a youth exchange with the RIAC to generate new knowledge and new practices in the care of milpa fields and native seeds.
Phase 3: Capacity-building campesino-a-campesino workshops and exchanges with other technical experts to implement community plans of action.
Phase 4: Regional community communication on these processes through multiple media platforms that includes information on self-determination, native seeds, and agroecology with a territorial gaze.
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A guide for artisanal organic fertilizers
Maya food and medicine recipe book created by the women during their encounter
Plantas Medicinales del Pueblo Maya en Tiempos de COVID-19
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Collective Power for Food and Health Sovereignty
Last September in Campeche, Mexico, Ka’Kuxtal Much Meyaj and CAN’s alliance, Tumben Kuxtal (New Life), and the Maya communities of Los Chenesinaugurated an integrative health center based in Maya cosmo vision. The Sistema Integral de Salud Maya Jaime Rocha Pech is a collective effort that combines indigenous and western approaches