By Carlene Myvett | Development Manager
The village of San Jose lies within the Maya Golden Landscape (MGL). This traditional Mopan Maya village is home to the Green Creek Farmers’ Cooperative (GCFC), a group committed to implementing regenerative, agroforestry farming systems. GCFC has been managing their indigenous and community conserve area (ICCA), Ya’ax Ha Livelihood Area (Ya’ax Ha), since the early 1980s. In 2018, Ya’axchè Conservation Trust (Ya’axché) began partnering with the community-based group, providing agricultural extension services to its members and technical assistance to the group to improve their governance structure.
Ya’ax Ha is the Mopan translation of Green Creek. The ICCA contributes to maintaining the ecological integrity of the wider MGL by preserving standing forests, connectivity and biodiversity. It is divided into an annual crop farming zone, an agroforestry zone and a conservation zone. The annual crop zone is where subsistence crops (i.e. corn, beans, rice, ground vegetables) are planted for household consumption, the agroforestry zone is where shade-grown cacao is farmed for local consumption and export to international markets, and the conservation zone is a broadleaf forest biological corridor, connecting the MGL to the Columbia River Forest Reserve, a protected area within the network of Belize National System of Protected Areas.
Ya’axchè recently assisted GCFC with demarcation of additional farming plots within the agroforestry zone. The day started early, with a group of staff members and farmers trekking to the designated zone, thick with secondary forests. By the end of the day, six additional plots would have been demarcated. In addition to ensuring that each member of the cooperative is allocated a plot, the demarcation exercise will improve the overall management of the ICCA by ensuring members are held members accountable for proper management of their defined farming plots.
Yaaxche remains committed to supporting GCFC in their endeavour to practice sustainable farming. Agroforestrypreserves mature forests, helping to mitigate against climate change, land degradation and habitat loss. It is a climate-friendly alternative to milpa, a type of shifting cultivation, which was traditionally practiced by Mayan farmers for generations.
By Carlene Myvett | Development Manager
By Maximiliano Caal | Project Leader
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