In the first part of our 2-part series, we're jumping into the history of central america, how that impacted traditional land stewardship systems, and specifically what the early stages of swidden milpa agriculture looks like!  We discuss how the milpa exists today within the Lacandon and how it has evolved!

 

 

Sources:

Climate-Smart Adaptations and Government Extension Partnerships for Sustainable Milpa Farming Systems in Mayan Communities of Southern Belize Kristin Drexler

Falkowski, T. B., Chankin, A., Diemont, S. A. W., & Pedian, R. W. (2019). More than just corn and calories: a comprehensive assessment of the yield and nutritional content of a traditional Lacandon Maya milpa. Food Security. doi:10.1007/s12571-019-00901-6

Diemont, S. A. W., Martin, J. F., & Levy-Tacher, S. I. (2005). Emergy Evaluation of Lacandon Maya Indigenous Swidden Agroforestry in Chiapas, Mexico. Agroforestry Systems, 66(1), 23–42. doi:10.1007/s10457-005-6073-2

Drucker, P., & Fox, J. W. (1982). Swidden Didn’ Make All That Midden: The Search for Ancient Mayan Agronomies. Journal of Anthropological Research, 38(2), 179–193. doi:10.1086/jar.38.2.3629596

Maya Forest Garden: Eight Millennia of Sustainable Cultivation of the Tropical Woodlands

Anabel Ford, Ronald Nigh

Falkowski, T. B., Chankin, A., & Diemont, S. A. W. (2019). Successional changes in vegetation and litter structure in traditional Lacandon Maya agroforests. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 1–21. doi:10.1080/21683565.2019.1649784

The Maya milpa: fire and the legacy of living soil Ronald Nigh1* and Stewart AW Diemont2

 

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