Traditional Milpa Agriculture in Belize PDF Download

Author: John D. H. Lambert
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural development projects
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Author: Pio Saqui
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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The data gathered in this ethnographic study of milpa agriculture and community in Toledo, Belize have shown that Mopan Maya traditional ecological knowledge has four distinguishable elements: a) a holistic ecological knowledge of the ecosystem as it currently sustains the Maya livelihood; b) a socio-political structure that is enforced and activated by the practice of making milpa; c)an aesthetic that highlights the traditional spiritual respect and appreciation of the natural environment as expressed in Mopan Maya oral history ; and d) a philosophy that highlights elements of the ancient Maya cosmology. This study focuses on the ecological knowledge and socio-political structure, leaving studies of aesthetics and philosophy for later research. This study concludes that being indigenous Mopan Maya requires close contact with, and traditional knowledge of, the ecosystem and the ways in which it interacts through milpa farming with daily life, community and kinship. It is this close connection with milpa farming or kol and tzik that ensures the transmission of TEK through the generations. The transmission of traditional ecological knowledge requires: a) the knowledge of the Mopan Maya Elders, b) the activation of tzik, c) the making of kol, and d) the knowledge and use of the native language. These elements ensure that the whole complex of the Mopan Maya traditional ecological knowledge is transmitted. The indigenous person that abandons their indigenous environments squanders a true self of indigenous identity.

Author: Carmen Julia Cortez
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781369201413
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Small-scale non-industrialized farmers using traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and household labor manage a system of shifting cultivation in their maize milpa and matahambre forest plots. The feedbacks from their immediate environment and household provide a platform where micro-level agricultural dynamics are practiced for subsistence. In Belize, Mayan farmers in their lands sustain their families and maintain a level of sustainability by relying on their household, ecology, and community rather than industrialized or mechanized strategies. This dissertation details three main facets of this farming system: 1.) The effect of fallow and soil property on maize yields in a shifting swidden farm system called the milpa, 2.) The effect of household (HH) labor and cultivation lengthing on the selection of weed control strategies in the slash and mulch farm type, matahambre and 3.) The effect of school enrollment has on how much school going versus non-school going young adults participate in activities that build traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). We did not find an effect of fallow length, or any of our soil properties (pH, TKN, %OM, or P) on maize yields. This suggests that other cultural factors such as land tenure, weeding management, and pest management may instead play a role in the selection of sites with a variety of fallow ages for planting maize. In the matahambre system we find that household hand weeding is still the prevalent method of weeding and weakly found support for the relationship of cultivation lengthening associated with a decrease in the use of herbicides while displaying an increase in the use of both herbicides and cover crops. Finally, critical to land-based subsistence activities, is TEK that is learned by young adults by participating in community agro-ecological activities that engage the practice of this knowledge. We find no difference between school going (SG) and non-school going (NSG) females' time devoted to TEK related activities. We also found that SG males spend less time engaged in agricultural related activities than NSG males. Despite the national state level policies that attempt to undermine land tenure, customary management of milpa and matahambre farming, and threaten traditional ecological learning in the Mayan lands, Mayan farmers' milpa management with respect to fallow does not appear to hinder their sustainability in terms of yields and possibly to soil. Management of matahambre continues to consider HH weeding as its main method of weeding rather than the use of herbicides or cover crops. Finally, our final results suggest that traditional ecological knowledge and agricultural activities must be included in school curriculum to transmit subsistence farming knowledge. Altering farming practices without full consideration of HH decision making, the parameters these decisions are made under, their consequences on the environment and the exclusion of the farmer's themselves from the development project table is detrimental to long term sustainability of both natural and human communities.

Author: James A. Spurney
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mycorrhizas
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Author: Hum Hennessy
Publisher: Langenscheidt Publishing Group
ISBN: 9789812349361
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Insight Guides, the world's largest visual travel guide series, in association with Discovery Channel, the world's premier source of nonfiction entertainment, provides more insight than ever. From the most popular resort cities to the most exotic villages, Insight Guides capture the unique character of each culture with an insider's perspective. Inside every Insight Guide you'll find:.Evocative, full-colour photography on every page.Cross-referenced, full-colour maps throughout.A brief introduction including a historical timeline .Lively, essays by local writers on the culture, history, and people.Expert evaluations on the sights really worth seeing.Special features spotlighting particular topics of interest.A comprehensive Travel Tips section with listings of the best restaurants, hotels, and attractions, as well as practical information on getting around and advice for travel with children

Author: Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo
Publisher: Center for Comparative Arch
ISBN: 9789701895108
Category : Ethnology
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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A detailed analysis of the economic foundations of the prehispanic Maya city of Palenque. Full information on extensive ridged field systems in Palenque's immediate hinterland and on the rural settlement associated with them. The study concludes that, initially, the construction and use of these ridged fields systems was strongly controlled and managed by elites residing in the city itself. Later in the sequence there is a substantial decrease in central administrative control. Detailed data are available electronically. Complete text in English and Spanish.

Author: Thomas A. Lyson
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 1611683033
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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A engaging analysis of food production in the United States emphasizing that sustainable agricultural development is important to community health.

Author: Isabel M. Sohn López-Forment
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 656

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Abstract: The traditional milpa, a shifting slash and burn, followed by fallow cultivation system typical of Middle America, is changing rapidly due to management intensification. This dissertation explores changes in such traditional shifting milpa systems and alternative legume-based milpa systems with more intensification, among Mayan and Nahuat communities in Yucatan and Veracruz, Mexico. The dynamics of shifting milpa systems are analyzed at the community and landscape level reviewing traditional knowledge, and at the ecosystem level by examinign carbon and nitrogen cycling and soil organic matter dynamics.

Author: Anabel Ford
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315417928
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Using studies on contemporary Maya farming techniques and important new archaeological research, the authors show that the ancient Maya were able to support, sustainably, a vast population by farming the forest—thus refuting the common notion that Maya civilization devolved due to overpopulation and famine.

Author: O. Nigel Bolland
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429717717
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Independent from Britain only since 1981, the new nation of Belize is situated at the intersection of two cultural spheres: the English-speaking Afro-Caribbean countries and the Spanish-speaking Central American republics. Its scanty population of about 150,000 is culturally heterogeneous, and its various ethnic groups coexist in a complex pattern