El Pilar

November in Sri Lanka

2011-12-02T15:56:00.001-08:00

Complex societies in the tropics are found in every continent. The Maya make the daily news for the hype of 2012, Angkor of Cambodia is well known, yet the ancient cities of Sri Lanka are not widely known or fully appreciated. But it should.

The central region of the South Asian Island features the “Cultural Triangle” with major monuments that span the last 3,000 years. The dramatic stone carvings, the multitude of Image Shrines, and the remarkable remains of monasteries where the records of the political and religious events were recorded provide an amazing backdrop for a study tour.

The land use and landscape is also part of the drama. From ancient times water was impounded in large reservoirs called tanks that are used today for rice paddy irrigation and drinking water. I had the privilege to meet with a number of Sri Lankan luminaries that guided me in a new understanding of the local area. Ranil Senanayake who promotes forest gardens around the world and the eminent Sudharshan Seneviratne who works with Sri Lanka’s world heritage. All this was made possible by ecologist David Campbell, director o

f the Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education program in Kandy, who hosted my visit and entry into the Sri Lankan world.

While the tropical isle was warm, my visit was timed with a major tropical storm and my entire visit was punctuated with rain. Fortunately I was able to visit museums with the worst of the downpours and my hike to the top of Sigirya’s fortress palace, my gaze upon Polonnaruwa carved standing and reclining Buddhas, and my circum perambulation of Anuradhapura stupa were able to happen without torrents.All visits to shrines required that you doff your shoes, a wet proposition in the rain, but gave a special sense of awe to the exper

ience.

These are the large and imposing architectural monuments. Yet the monastic ruins of Ritigala hidden in the forest preserve, was my favorite. I managed to climb up through the major portions of the site before the rain came down.

I also had an opportunity to look at home gardens and found that they had many similarities to the Maya gardens. David Campbell says they are not as biodiverse.

Still, it was wonderful to see the gardens and see how many pan tropical plants included the New World. While I had a chance to see several gardens, Swrnalatha of Lenadura was the most spectacular. She had maize, beens, chiles and avocado among her other vegetables and trees. Her garden was exceptional and it was wonderful to have a chance to see it!

I am bringing home some books on Sri Lanka’s long history and prehistory and look forward to expanding my knowledge on this intriguing civilization.

World Human Geography Conference: Communities and Ethics ~ 15-16 September

2011-11-18T01:46:00.000-08:00

Anabel Ford had the privilege to participate in an amazing conference promoted by Kansas University and hosted on the Haskell Indian Nations University. This event, for a small gathering of recognized experts, brought to a public forum critical issues of practicing research with indigenous collaborators and partners. With key speakers including leading attorney Walter Echo Hawk, Jerome E. Dobson, President, American Geographical Society, and Brian McClendon, and Vice President of Google and Cofounder of Google Earth.

Participants included experts in the public, private, tribal/indigenous, academic, and government institutions from local and international agencies that presented on community-based research methodologies. Panelists covered a variety of challenging and sensitive topics and Dan Wildcat, Director of the American Indian Studies Program at Haskell, wove the themes together. Underscoring the entire program was the importance of appreciating the importance of geography and the variations that fundamental context brings to understandings.

In addition to the formal program, there were collective meals that brought the local and international participants and panelist together on the Haskell campus with remarkable dance and drum presentations. With such an eclectic group, the event was extremely stimulating,

Miguel Orrego Visits Sta Barbabara 1-3 September

2011-11-18T01:06:00.000-08:00

We were privileged to have a visit from Miguel Orrego, noted Guatemalan archaeologist and director of the amazing Takalik Abaj project on the South Coast of Guatemala. His trip form Guatemala to California had two missions, one was to enable him to visit museums that feature archaeological subjects and two to meet and work with John Graham a professor emeritus form Cal (UC Berkeley). He began his trip in Los Angeles and on his way to the Bay Area, he was able to stop in Sta Barbara. We hosted his stay and were able to show him around the UCSB campus and introduce him to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and Anthropology Curator, John Johnson. Miguel was able to see exhibits and to examine the collections storage, learning about challenges for small museums. He will bring this experience back to his museum planning process at Takalik Abaj.

Another Great Experience in the Maya Forest 18-28 August

2011-09-12T15:38:00.001-07:00

The Society for Ecological Restoration scheduled their major meetings in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where I would present the ancient Maya landscape on a panel on the value of traditional Maya land use in the management of the Maya forest. It promised to be an exciting exposure of my research, a chance to meet new people, and of course share ideas. I did not expect to know many people, but I did know a few!

The SER organizers offered a Pre-conference tour of the Lacandon Maya forest gardens. This I determined to be a part of.

We rallied in the Villahermosa Airport as a group of about 20 people from all points of the globe. From there we traveled by van to Lacanja for the next 3 nights. From there we were able to review degraded pastured invaded by African grasses on an immigrant community, overworked lands with bracken fern, and milpas and forest gardens of the Lacandon. In all areas, we were regaled with the potential of the Maya forest garden strategies to restore the Maya forest habitats. I learned as much from field encounters as I did from the group with professionals form Estonia, Finland, Australia, Argentina, Ethiopia, UK, Holland, Ireland, and of course Mexico, the US and Canada.

Merida is a fantastic city and I am always thrilled to have a chance to be there. Ron Nigh, my collaborator on the alternative explanation of the Maya forest, was my link to participation and we elected to stay in a wonderful hotel he and Kippy enjoy, Hotel Medio Mundo. Between the plenary presentations, the major panels, and the posters and other sessions, there was much to engage with. Remarkable lunches were served every day to speed up the timing process and the food and drinks at the breaks were opulent from the standpoint of an archaeologist. And the attendees were stellar.

After the meetings, Ron and I extended our stay to work on our papers, discussing and debating aspects of the wording between our breaks for meals. By the end of the stay we had finished a major part of one paper and outlined our general issues to address in the future. While we were in Merida, we met with several other friends, we shared dinners with some of the Lacandon group, we frequented the popular restaurant Chaya Maya, and took in the city ballet performance of Swan Lake!

A month ago: Trekking on the Brecha Anabela

2011-08-14T21:41:00.001-07:00

It was 1978 and Anabel Ford arrived at Parque Nacional Tikal to study ancient Maya settlement between Tikal and Yaxha and it required the establishment of a surveyed line between the two major centers. It was called La Brecha Anabela .....

July 15, 2011, was the day to walk la Brecha Anabela. The day was not as expected. I had imagined an early start, ambling out, looking at sites, and enjoying a quiet lunch on the way. We would start in the morning and have a nice dinner after the walk in the evening. But the life of the Petén superseded.

First we started a bit late-- before 8 am-- from the Flores area driving to Tikal with Jaap Schoorl at the wheel. Then, at Tikal, I had to meet with the Tikal Administration. After we finally got all in order it was 10 AM. The best idea was we would get a lift to the 13 km entrance on the Caoba road. And walk in. It would be 13 km and given that all would be cleared, it would be 3-4 hours walk. Jaap noticed he did not have sufficient fuel so we had to go on the Ixlu for fuel as the drive around to the entrance to la brecha was not close.... That took another extra 30 min round trip from Caoba. It was after 11 AM when we got underway in a real sense driving on the road north of Caoba to the entrance of La Brecha Anabela.

Once on the Caoba logging road we were heading for our entrance. We dove on through the expanding Caoba village. We came to a wide spot, the old chicle airfield, la pista, in the days of chicle planes landed in this place that was a criss-cross of ruts aiming weaving along the old strip. The road tracks are all over. Midway we take a track into fields and pasture and for a good part of the drive it is fields and pastures over hills and onward all the way up to the perimeter of the Paque Nacional Tikal. This is surprising that it is the most protected area technically but the forest is disappeared.... The drive turns out to be some 20-30km form Caoba into the area we will get out and walk back to Tikal.

I had imagined we would get off at the head of the brecha... but it would not be so. And before that, we ended up stuck in the MUD. We were in knee deep in muck and no easy way out. Trail and error got us to rocks that we carried form some distance to put under the tires and bit-by-bit we got out. This took its time as one can picture. There were six of us, Jaap, Marco Tulio, a Tikal driver, Francisco, a Tikal ranger, Narciso form Sta Familia Belize, Natalia Solis of Jaguar Inn, and myself. We all took our parts in the effort to get the vehicle out. Natalia and I carrying rocks, Narciso cutting limbs in hopes of using them under tires (they floated), Jaap looking at the situation in water, Marco getting a feel of the immobility, looking at the problem form all sides. Natalia worried, myself looking at the vanishing time, and all considering our alternatives -- From experience I knew we would get out, the question of what next.

Finally after an hour plus, we got Japp's vehicle out and once again were on our way. Where we were left for our walk was considerable north of the area I thought we should be to access La Brecha Anabela directly. We had past the camp Gavilan that was where we had camped on the brecha. We got out and were pointed in the direction for our walk. We were on our way by foot, it was after 2 pm... We were left at a trail that was unimproved. Francisco and Narciso were hacking with machete. This was not a well-cleared path. Thankfully we had a park ranger Francisco and Narciso too!

This was more than an hour on the trail and crossing the limit of the park we arrive at "la mera brecha" -- I thought we were further along, but it was 4:45 when we got to my 8 km mark, the Tikal earthworks! We would be walking in the night for sure because in the best of times it would be 2 hours. Sunset is just after 6 pm and dusk is sort in the tropics. We stopped for a small bite, we had not ever eaten lunch and yet ahead was the Arroyo Negro that would have water...

We got there to the arroyo and it was full... we had to cross the arroyo on a log -- set up by the fellows who had worked there in the rain no doubt--by using two sticks poles to balance. One by one we moved across. Everyone crossed with ease; I was uncertain but ultimately made it too. We thought the worst was over in terms of water but there would be more ahead. Right away we had the Tintal full of water too... Up to now we had worked to stay dry. This was now impossible. We now got our boots wet sloshing in the water up to our calves. We all just gave in and walked in the water that extended out in every direction on the dusking light.

Next we got to the area of the dense Maya settlement, up s steep hill and along the high forest Montana. We could not stop to enjoy it, it would be fully dark soon. This is where we surveyed a lot and there is a large center El Corozal, we could not stop. We crossed the beautiful Corozal and saw to the south of the brecha the aguada... but no stopping. We finally passed the first house mounds I mapped and went down into the Ecobal. This marked the 2.5km and it now was getting very dark near 7 pm. We needed light and to our great fortune Jaap and I brought our headlamps.

We walked on and in less than 1 km from Tikal we encountered water that was more than we had yet seen. Now we with our headlamps the flow of water was towards us. Up to this time Narciso's boots had kept him dry, but now as we plunged in, he too got wet after he walked not much more than 5 minutes. But we all were now wet above our knees.

We had about 15 more minutes to go, walking in the moving water that evidently had over flown the Arroyo Negro channel. If was very dark, we were walking up and out of the water and before 7:20 pm we made it to the Jaguar Inn at Tikal... Finally wobbly and tired, but we were well and pleased we had finished the walk, much longer and harder than we had imagined. We all had a bite of food at Jaguar Inn and Jaap whose stamina had not waned drove us back to the Flores area. I fell into bed by 10pm.

Mis, Mayan for Kitty

2011-07-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

BRASS Base announces a new addition to the team. For some time we have had our potlicker, Ixpai, providing local security. Now we have added rodent maintenance to our team. Mis was born in Duck Run about three months ago and was awaiting adoption at with friend and master forest gardener, Narciso. Our six-year old dog took to her immediately as a household companion! Surprisingly, they play together! We are pleased that they get along.

Mirador and Pilar from the Air

2011-07-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ada and I had traveled by land to Sta Elena joining Marshall Koval and Andy Carstensen of Mayaniquel to accompany them to El Mirador and El Pilar on the 6 and 7^th of July. Dana Morrow, the connection between myself and Marshall, met us there too. He came down to the Maya forest spending time at Tikal before the trip. We were a group of five and with the pilot, Federico, six souls as he reported to the control tower in Flores.

Weather in July is dicey, it is the beginning of the rainy season, and it had been very wet leading up to our convergence at the heliport of the Maya International. But we had luck and our pilot, Capitan Federico. Marshall and Andy landed around 8:15 AM on the 6th from Guatemala City and after refueling and coordinating, we all got into the helicopter for our first destination: El Mirador.

Flying over the northern Petén is astounding. We could see the impact of the clearing, we could recognize the cattle, we were aware of the fact that the beautiful green only camouflaged the landscape that was parched and brown only a few weeks before. We saw Zacarias’ ranch where we had been just the day before. A patch of trees surrounded by pastures.

We were able to see El Mirador by air and by land. When we landed we were greeted by the caretakers who showed us around the site. Our maps signed by Bobby Labbe helped to orient us. In the time we had and with the rain, we did not see all the major high points, but we did go up La Danta, we got the view of the surrounding areas, we saw the stuccos, and we were able to see the Preclassic exposure under what Richard Hansen told us when we met him the next day is the “state of the art” pavilion. I am not so convinced. The dryness is one of the major problems in the conservation of limestone and stucco.

Rain shortened our stay at El Mirador. It was a magnificent visit and a remarkable opportunity to see the central and north of the Petén from the air. Wet and muddy, we arrived back at the Maya International. Dinner on the island of Flores and to bed for an early start… pending weather.

The second day out we were held up with the clouds low in the distance. When we did take off, near 8 am, with the plan for Tikal, but the clouds in the north were heavy and low and the flying restrictions over Tikal would not permit our travel…so we went to Yaxhá with hopes for Naranjo on the way to El Pilar.

We had one challenge: Marshall had to get to a place with phone and internet at noon.I arranged that we would go to Melchor and use Emilia Torralla’s house. Emilia was our on the ground connection who arranged ground transport and food for our day at El Pilar. What a woman of Action!

While it turned out differently that I had planned, we met Marshall’s needs and still got to see El Pilar. The clouds had burned off by the time we went to Melchor and while the others enjoyed the walk around the ancient monuments of El Pilar, Marshall made his virtual meeting successfully.

On our return to the landing at Yaloch, Raul Ortiz, the president of El Esfuerzo, was there to meet us. He was a major support and brought us all back to Pilar Poniente and lunch prepared by Lila and her crowd of Impulsores Peteneros. At lunch Ada found her tocaya, another Ada among Lila’s group.

Timing was of the essence. We lifted off the ground at Yaloch and headed to Flores so that Andy could be left at Chulac and Marshall could make it back to Guatemala by nightfall. Two people with such busy schedules – we were fortunate to have their attention and support for this short but valuable project of site visits!

A great time was had by all!

NICH President Diane Haylock shares time at El Pilar

2011-07-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Diane Haylock, President of the National Institute of Culture and History, took time form her busy schedule to visit El Pilar and the school forest garden Känan K’aax. We met on Saturday the 2^nd of July after the successful Belize Archaeological Symposium that ended with a grand dinner at Hode’s the night before. Starting at the San Ignacio Hotel lobby, we took off to see the some of the highlights of El Pilar and finishing progress of the Känan K’aax. The morning was cool and the rains were distant.

We were joined by Narciso, master forest gardener , and this added to Diane Haylock’s pleasure. Our first stop was the Tzunu’un house and forest garden that evokes the personal spaces of the ancient home. We also took in the majestic Plaza Copal. There Narciso was able to collect seeds of Bobtun, the pheasant tail fern, that would be able to spout in moist soil for Diane. We look forward to hearing of her triumph with the seeds!

Peregrinations in the Yucatan

2011-06-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from 9 days in Mexico 15 -25 June. A major trip and exhausting. Got back and just went to sleep. We started from BRASS Base and went to a small resort called Pook's Hill near Teakettle -- I know the owners. There we had our first night.

From there we drove with Ada, the field student here this season, as well as 2 forest gardeners--Narciso Torres and Alfonso Tzul to Mexico, after 11 hours driving, crossing the border, we got to Puerto Morelos. Our travels were on a STRAIGHT road, nice shoulders allowing passing and much traffic.

We drove out of the Chetumal area after crossing the border with the typical challenges in the hot sun. The area between Bacalar and Tulum was newly widened. We could see the forest and know the trees: many many Chicozapotes recognizable for their famous cuts. Interestingly, they were all short -- hurricanes? Rockier soil? The whole forest was short yet seeing the Chicos it must be the height of the mature forest... different place same trees. We stopped in Tulum to see Pablo Canchen who is Macduff's friend and guardia of the Tulum Maya church. Narciso was called upon to help Pablo, now old and infirmed with his hurt knee.

Massage with lime juice was what he offered in his Maya – Spanish effort. We were able to visit the Maya church and light candles to the cross.

In Puerto Morelos with the leaning lighthouse we stayed with a friend, Bush, who keeps a small apartment for guests. This time he was full and the guests included Scott Fedick and 2 of his students there. It was a nice eve with Scott (who will visit Belize next week). After breakfast the next day, Scott and tema left and later Macduff, my photographer friend (macduffeverton.com)

who did the new El Pilar poster came in to make some checks on his new book presently in galleys ready to print. I enjoy being with him so that was a good event. As it turned out we converged with him later.

We went to Chichén Itzá for the next day, and that was a shock. I hope that Tikal can keep its blend of exposures and forest and NOT have the overload of artesanias. The whole place is covered with them all along any perimeter.

It is as if Mexico has given up regulation, Casi Gratis the new cry. The whole plaza perimeters and the sides of the causeway to the sacred cenote were cheek by jowl hawkers, I was not sure that we paid 150 p (near $15 US) for the chance to see ancient monuments or to buy unappealing crafts. Narciso and Alfonzo were more reflective, worrying about the home economy and the way those people must eek out a living. No monument could be climbed, no views to see of the terrain, and hoards of people to boot. It was depressing.

We had a chance to go to Yaxuna that same day and a contrast it provided. Jonathon Pagliaro, a student of mine, was working with his colleague and friend Travis Stanton of Universidad de la Americas. It was late but there with daylight savings, we could go out to the site -- within 20 km of Chichén so you could see what imagination went into those reconstructions. There is a lot of rock in that area... I have thought that the long treatment of Henequen is one reason robbing the limestone of its regenerative leaf litter.

Anyway, the archaeology is quite different from that of the Petén, hills, hummocks, and temples, you need to learn that landscape to get into the archaeological search! The forest now is scrub there with may prickly woods, though we do see the same types of trees when in a more forested area. As with the Tulum area, they are all short in comparison to the ones of Tikal and El Pilar.

After spending the night at a hotel near the sites, we drove south meandering through the center of the peninsula traveling past towns that had been part of the Caste Wars. We had arranged to meet Macduff in Chichimila, south of Valladolid, where he has friends and there we passed some of the morning talking with Dario and with his family as well as Bush and Macduff.

They were staying in Valladolid. We learned about Maya words, my interest on the named for houses -- permanent, field, rancho etc. We left midday with the aim of getting to Jose Maria Morelos before dark. This is where I was scheduled to present and participate in a weeklong workshop - seminar.

We passed the town where Cecili Chi made the first stand against the injustices that needed attention. We stopped in Tihosuco where we went to the Caste War Museum, a nicely presented history of the injustices suffered by the Maya... there we ran into a colleague, Richard Leventhal, who with the director of the museum is starting a local ethnohistory project. That was a surprise. I learned he was at the same hotel as Macduff and that they shared time that night.

We finished out review of the museum, talked with the director and Richard and his students and were ready for something to eat. We tried to find a lunch without success. Elections had brought many into the town that had little amenities to offer the traveler. We managed to get some tortillas to hold us till we got to Jose Maria Morelos, JMM. On the next stage we stopped in Saban where we found a Maya beekeeper, Gualberto, who Bush had told us about. That was a treat. He was passionate about the importance of the bees, their link to the flowers, and the need for trees. He was also adamant that the bee keeping was a cultural heritage of the Maya and must be carried on. His son Hector who had worked as a waiter for Bush did not show interest. The honey was expensive, 150p for 500 mil, I got 2 bottles.

We made into JMM by 6 pm and there we found Susanne, our coordinator and wife of the rector Francisco Rosado Mai. She set us up at the hotel and pointed us in the direction of food with Jessica at kilometro 50, we were in good shape.

The Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo was our main destination where all students must learn Maya and English, classes taught in Spanish and Maya, and the focus is Agroforestry, Language and Culture, Community Studies, and Health. I was set up with a week long agenda that included lectures, site visits, meetings, and exchange.

The week was tremendous, I gave 2 lectures on Monday: one was on origins and the next on tourism... That is too much in the future I will say for one a day.

Tuesday we had sendero walks at the campus and in the afternoon participated in a presentation of Gastronomia, wonderful.

Macduff and Bush showed for this event and dinner Ron and Kippy Nigh joined us form San Cristobal, a very long 2 day drive as it turns out.

The next day, with Ron and Kippy, we went to Chum ya and there saw the new Pitahaya fields that the professors of the university are involved with. That was a long day with breakfast and dinner in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Bush and Macduff showed up while we were in the Pitahaya field of Don Pedro and were able to get some interesting reactions with Macduff’s book. We also went to the field of Don Nicolas and he had a very nice field house that caused much discussion as it was designed as a long term investment that would serve as a temporary home away form home in the field when the time required for work was longer than a day.

The next day we went to San Carlos where a new tourism project is contemplated by Edgar a student of the University and a resident of the village. There we saw honey bees, a milpa, and a chat with Edgar’s grandfather, a wizened man who had founded the ejido from Izamal in Yucatan in the 1970s. The village was bare and without greenery, houselots were dry and swept, and life seems on the edge. We wanted to share Edgar’s enthusiasm. His mother provided with a fantastic local lunch of course featuring Chaya. In the afternoon we heard a lecture on the people of the area and cosmovision of the Maya. Friday, our last day, we heard a presentation on the fundamentals of Maya culture. These last lectures were presented by professors who were Maya and were involved in the Language and Culture component of the school. We had exposure to all the facets of the school.

We left midday Friday the 24^th to drive back to Cayo, after a delicious breakfast full of fresh tropical fruit at Susannes. We made it all the way back in 7 hours crossing the border. I drove the Mexico portion across the border to Corozal and Ada drove the Belize stretch while I rested. Back to Base fulfilled, learning everyday…. And as Bush might say, if you did not learn something today, you died yesterday! We are all quite alive if tired!

Into the Depths of the Maya Underworlds… Las Cuavas with Holly Moyes!

2011-06-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

A major weekend up into the Chiquibul… We had thought that waiting to follow Rafi up to Las Cueva was the best things, it turned out that we easily did it all ourselves. Still we delayed our departure and first waited and waited at BRASS Base as he said we were to leave at 8AM! We took off, and waited some at the Mai Gate at the entrance to the Pine Ridge, and then agai we tarried at the Guacamayo Bridge until we finally headed on ourselves. Rafi appeared behind us at the final stretch into Las Cuevas … we did not kale it for lunch but they got us some food to fill us in.

Mark (one of Heather McKillop’s students) met us and gave us a tour of the surface site planted over the cave below in a sinkhole. This site is not large, with a long entry plaza they debate is not, one a pair of buildings that appear a ball court, and a main plaza with large 10 plus meter high mounds that are situated directly over the cave. The tour was interesting and there were some small plaza excavations that revealed very little, suggesting a single component construction with very few sherds that suggest a Late Classic date.

Holley came out of the cave near the end of the day and we were given the chance to see the cave and shown the complexity of the architectural features, terraces and walls and the succeeding chambers that move increasingly away form light, present fewer architectural features and fewer sherd pavement. Compared with the site above the cave and on the surface, there is no lack of sherds in the cave. The crawling, ducking, sliding, all lead by Holley and Mark was enthralling and arresting. No place without some mark of prehistory. As we came in, the filed crew, including Barbara Voorhies, were heading out to clean up for dinner, we would do that later. And we would appreciate it. The slippery mud gives off an odor that Holley says is infused with bat guano! What an experience.

Rum and lime juice, dinner with the team, talking until nearly 9 pm, when the lights go off. Then off to bed while the “kids” keep up the liveliness. Up early for the hike to the bird tower and a chance to see the topography of the area, it is complicated Saw another cave like rock shelter with the same terrace architecture that was prevalent in the opening of the Las Cuevas cave.

After the bird tower and a late breakfast with Holly, I talked some time with Laura Kowsakowski, working with the cave ceramics. By the time I got back to the main area Holly had to go to work and we took off to Caracol. On the drive we say the Guacamayo – this a pair nesting in a tree on the side of the road. What luck to catch the Scarlet Macaw in situ. Once at the site we took a long walk and got the picture of the site and were able to drive out, stop at Jan and Tineka’s Green Hills Butterfly Farm for a moment of exchange and got back to base by 4 pm. The trip while involving a lot of driving, was a reward, not everyday do you get a tour of a cave but the experts!

Eladio Pop and his 1000 Cacaos

2011-06-09T08:57:00.001-07:00

30 acres of land, 15 acres planted, 1000 cacao trees, 15 children, and no scarcity of firewood or food. This blog will be told in picture form following the entirety of our tour through Eladio Pop’s forest garden, please follow this entry with the picture journey below. Elias Galvez and his wife Gina picked Anabel and I up in Santa Elena at 5am sharp. Elias Galvez is a talented tour guide and can be reached at galvez.elias@yahoo.net for any tour information. We took the four-hour journey through beautiful landscape on the Hummingbird and Southern highways heading toward San Pedro Columbia, Toledo, Belize. Upon arrival we were taken to the entrance of Eladio’s forest garden called the Agouti Cacao Farm. He lead us through his farm and along the way we munched on a different plant or fruit almost every other step we took. Jippy jap sprouts were plucked from the base of the palms as a refreshing snack and large sweet bananas were a treat to our pallets. The walk was shaded and cool from the trees he has tended for over forty years, which created a much-welcomed cool environment for our tour. Anabel was curious about his maize milpa, and he showed us the 2-3 acre section of his garden dedicated to the corn that feeds his family, friends and community, of which he produced about 1000 pounds per acre. His farm even had coffee beans, which was my first time seeing the actual green coffee bean growing on the plant. A drink that I have consumed countless times was presented to me in its raw form, a beautiful and welcomed sight as the need to know where ones food comes from declines increasingly in the States and around the world. We walked to the top of a hill where Eladio stores his piles of corn, as he explained to us the types of maize he has favored over the years, and we shared stories of the origin of corn and its humble beginnings. As this is the story of Eladio Pop’s 100 cacaos, we were surrounded by numerous trees as we descended into the shaded riverbank where Eladio twisted off cacao pods and hacked open with his machete. We were delighted to pop the fresh plump beans into our mouths and taste the sweet soft flesh on the outside and even chew the bean with its nutty flavor. They were delicious! The cacao pods would bloom straight from the trunk of the tree, and although we were past the peak season for harvesting cacao there was clearly no scarcity of pods. On our walk through the beautiful garden Eladio delighted us with his methods of care for the Agouti Cacao Farm. He showed clear evidence of one of Annabel’s favorite and often unnoted facts, that certain trees when cut quickly sprout new branches, showing that even when “destroying” the forest as the Maya are commonly believed to have done, new life quickly sprouts. Our last stop on the farm was at another hilltop, which overlooked all of his land, and where the all-important Maya bees were making honey in a tee kettle hanging from a champa. We then returned to the Pop household, where cacao beans were set out to dry. We enjoyed a very delicious meal of rice and beans cooked with coconut milk, chicken and fresh tortillas, Eladio’s wife is a talented cook, must be from her years of experience cooking for her 15 children. After our filling meal, we were shown step by step by Eladio’s eldest daughter, also called Ada, the process of making a cacao drink. She roasted the beans for half an hour, turning them for even roasting, and added three all spice peppers for flavor. Once they were properly roasted, she transferred the beans to a grinding table and with speed and skill ground the cacao with a stone in order to crack the shells. She then swept the beans and shells into a round tin, and moved the tin in quick purposeful circles so that the light shells would pop out and fall to the ground, leaving her with a tin full of cacao beans ready to grind. She used her strength to show us the action of grinding the beans in the outside kitchen, Anabel, Elias, and I even gave it a try, and it was definitely harder than she made it look. The whole family even the grandchildren consume this cacao everyday for strength, energy and health. Once all of our combined efforts finished grinding the cacao, Ada slowly added hot water to the yummy grounds and made a cacao drink for all of us to enjoy in their lovely calabash cups. I was a beautiful day at Eladio Pop’s home and garden, and his family was a delight and we all felt welcomed and had a hard time leaving the cheerful, happy, healthy family. It was great fun getting a tour of the cacao farm then witnessing and contributing to the cacao process that I know many Westerners would enjoy learning.

Pop's 1000 Cacaos

2011-06-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

45 Klicks North of Melchor

2011-06-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

Traveling in the Maya Biosphere

Our field trip into the Petén included the beautiful Lake Yaxhá with Gabriella of El Sombrero,

the amazing forest garden of San Andres with Zacarias, an impromptu dinner party at Ed and Sonia’s in Sta Elena, meeting with the director of PNT and archaeologists at Tikal, and the culmination of a trip to El Pilar –Poniente via Melchor. Coordinated by Emilia Toralla and with the support of the municipalidad, we enjoyed a mobile day with local conservationists our to expedition into the Biosfera Maya!

It all began at 7AM with a magnificent breakfast spread at Emilia’s: eggs with chaya, black beans, fresh cheese, warm tortillas, and fresh papaya juice. A hearty fare that would carry us

through the long day ahead. After TV and radio interviews, we collected ourselves, all eight of us, and piled into my double cab Izusu D-Max, two hearty fellows taking the rear covered bed for the sauna, or temascal, feature of the tour. We had 2 from the Monumentos Pehispanicas

office, 1 from the municipalidad, 1 from the NGO

Friends of Conservation and development, the reporter, the owner of the Remate guesthouse SakLuk, and ourselves.

The first 20 km from Melchor we were confronted with the reality of cattle: dry fields to the left of us, to the right of us, and ahead. Newly cleared and burned hectares to expand pastures

extended as far as the eye could see. No speck of shade for the poor cows or around the artificial aguadas that were drying out. Only one ‘bosquecito” was noted on the trek to the Zona de Usos Multiples. After 20 km we arrived at the Arch commemorating the community

concessions and took a group pix! We went form blistery hot to shady cool in the minute it took us to stop at the military post at El Manantial.

From there we drove up the canyon to reach the montaña and corozal of the ridges where El Pilar is situated. Our plan took us first to Laguna Yaloch, 10 km beyond El Pilar and where we would check on the possibilities of landing a helicopter. Yaloch has the IDEAH camp for the

caretakers of El Pilar and the concession El Esfuerzo camp for the extractive works.

We talked with the IDEAH caretakers and the cooks at the El Esfuerzo camp before starting back to El Pilar.

To guide us in our pursuit of El Pialr, the 2 IDEAH personnel, Chepe and Marvin, hopped on their motos and we followed. They were wonderful and kindly stopped at the brecha limit both north and south and guided us into the site. There we took in an overview of Poniente and then walked east to the chert site and up to Copal, taking in the aguada, Faisan and Duende on the way. Even without seeing the whole site, the team was impressed.

We took a moment at the juncture of the causeway at Plaza Copal and tooked over the Poniente. Astonished over the grandeur of the experience, we followed the causeway west back to Poniente and our vehicle. Would it not be nice to simply cross back to BRASS Base one time?

Our return was uncomplicated under the shadows of the leafy trees that protected us on the road. We had the luck to stop a vehicle on the way up that turned out to be Raul Ortiz, the president of El Esfuerzo. Of course Emilia knew him well and we were able to explain our project and plans for El Pilar.

He was excited and supportive. We will be getting in touch with him soon again!

Leaving the Biosfera Maya , we were once again confronted with the brittle picture of the pastures, such a pathetic contrast to the forest. Into Melchor at 4:30 we stopped at the Hilton restaurant for cold drinks before returning to Emilias house where we all congratulated each other on a mission accomplished.

Zacarias forest garden revisited

2011-06-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our second visit to Zacarias’ forest garden took place on the 30^th of May 2011. Don Filipe joined us again, along with Fransisco Florian as we were given another tour of his many milpas, ranging from freshly burned to over twenty years old. We were happy to see the corn growing since the last visit two weeks ago, despite the dry weather we have been experiencing. The rows of corn were becoming clear and sprouting up in bright green bursts from the ground that had been burned before our last visit. It is clear here how quickly new life can

grow if cared for by the forest gardeners in the right ways, compared to the road side burns I

have become used to seeing that are not maintained by ranchers and only promote the destruction of the Maya forest garden as we know it.

We were shown the differences between each of his plots, where the six-year milpa had trees

of all sorts, and had lush and full vegetation covering the ground with herbs and shrubs. The twenty-year milpas were markedly different visually, as the trees grew into a fullcanopy,blocking most light from hitting theground, and thus creating a clear forest garden floor.

Zacarias is constantly working with his forest garden, he understands all of the plants and trees with such a knowledge that it is humbling.

I personally came up with a pain while we were visiting, and when I mentioned

it to Zacarias he sprung up without hesitation, grabbed some leaves and began tomake a tea for me to soothe my pain, it worked in no time. We sat down to a lovely lunch of chicken soup and fresh tortillas in their outdoor covered kitchen, and enjoyed a hearty conversation mostly between Anabel and the forestry gardener Zacarias, and the incredible Don Filipe, mostly aimed at questions like how could the Maya have deforested all of their land when this is how they have developedand intensified it for over 1000’s of years?

It is so important for the knowledge that Zacarias has, and other forestry gardeners that we have visited to be passed on and shared with future generations, so that the entirety of unprotected land in Belize and surrounding countries don’t fall to the senseless burning done by ranchers. Zacarias shows the correct way to use burning as a positive cultivating process that creates life rather than savannas.

I wish I could spend days with some of the forest

gardeners I’ve met, delving into their brains and extracting the countless useful informationstored there. The amount of medicinal plants and ways to use them still blows my mind, and I feel extremely lucky to have men like this around me for their healing powers and life diving skills.

Sharing the Conservation Secrets of the Maya

2011-06-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

26 May Presentation at the George Price Centre for Peace and Development

Anabel Ford was invited to give a lecture for the Belmopan community.

This was in the impressive George Price Centre, curated by Elsie Alpuche. A spirited audience attended the 6 pm

session and was enthused about the forest garden and El Pilar. They had good questions and sharp insights and plans were made to visit the ancient site.

At the close, we all left better informed and with new friends.

Work begins at Känan K’aax, Santa Familia Primary School’s Well-Tended Garden

2011-05-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

The beautiful garden usually so peaceful that the Nighthawk nests among the leaves has shifted to a magnet of activity as the El Pilar Forest Garden Network gear up for their development of their basic infrastructure with the support of Exploring Solutions Past and National Geographic Society. Under the able charge of Rusel Aldana, the group’s president, perimeter alignments were established, post holes were excavated, and the new chain link fence wastaking shape. This would be the first step in establishing a safe and friendly model garden for the school children.

The school children are at the heart of the project so on the hot morning of the 25^th of May, the traditional Maya farmers of the Network along with Anabel Ford and Ada Sadler

of Exploring Solutions Past teamed up to host classes of the Sta Familia Primary School. In all 99 students from four classes visited the model Känan K’aax garden and learned about the important heritage of their community. The forest gardeners each had special relationships to the teachers and the children: father, brother, uncle,cousin, and all were neighbors.

We talked of food

groups, of proteins, calcium, and vitamin C. Chaya is rich in all of these important nutrients. The children got to look at the Chaya bush learn how to identify up from down and each were supplied w

ith a stick of Chaya that they were to plant at their home and watch grow. The children were responsive and engaged. We got to see how the teachers worked

with the students and how the students gathered in the new information. We can tell that the work in the garden will be a great supplement to the school week.

National Geographic Society funds to Develop the Santa Familia Primary School Forest Garden Känan K’aax

2011-05-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Strengthening our collaboration, Exploring Solutions Past: The Maya Forest Alliance of Santa Barbara California has joined with the El Pilar Forest Garden Network of Santa Familia, Cayo, Belize to work in their beautiful and creative Maya forest garden named Känan K’aax, well tended garden in Mayan. This joint project has been enhanced this year with a grant from the National Geographic Society supporting the construction of a protective fence, outhouse, and galleria for school class assembly within the acre forest garden plot that the Santa Familia school administration set aside for the promotion of the model heritage conservation food forest.

The dream of the El Pilar Forest Garden Network began with the work on the school plot in 2008, clearing the untended bush within the school land. With their skillful eye to important trees, selecting plants and eliminating others, and considering planned reforestation, this noble group of traditional Maya forest gardeners demonstrates how they manage the forest as a garden. Their familiarity with the landscape gave them the advantage and only three years later the canopy is growing, food and herbs are flourishing, orchids are blooming, and life has thrived in the forest garden. With all this design as a hands-on teaching center, the group faced problems: horses were tromping in the garden, chickens were scavenging from the plants, while some people were throwing trash and others were plundering the garden.

Alcario Cano, the late president and true visionary of the project, lamented the lack of the fence to honor their remarkable efforts and to protect the site from marauders. He would be proud of the activity at the site now. It was on the hot afternoon of the 19^th of May when President Rusel Aldana and Anabel Ford proudly signed for the first installment of the funds that will realize the group’s plan of a garden teaching center for their community school children. The dry season has prolonged, and taking advantage the team will be busy over the next 6 weeks and plan to co

My El Pilar Experience

2011-05-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna

By Ada Sadler

My long awaited arrival to El Pilar finally occurred on May 17^th 2011, and the verdict… nothing less than my great expectations lead me to believe. This is certainly a special place, and this is apparent at the first site of Maya architecture encompassed by the forest.

The tour with Anabel and friends Erica and John started at Tzunu’un, a house complex of the more fancy variety. Sitting on the elevated benches of the southern mound, you look out into what was essentially the square of the house complex, complete with an eastern shrine. It is easy to imagine the family that once lived here, socializing in the plaza center during the hot days and accepting guests into their enclosed house spaces. Because the forest has not been cut away from these house remains the archaeologists call mounds, but rather worked with care to cover and protect the monuments at El Pilar it is possible to imagine the homes here with the same environmental atmosphere the Maya must have had.

Walking through the rest of the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna, I begin to get excited in what feels like my own discoveries, and I become an archeologist myself, keeping my eyes peeled for sights of mounds and monuments as I venture on. The trails wind up and over large plazas and weave through complexes and ball courts. We were lucky to have the forest gardener Narciso accompanying us and he points out the important forest plants to us such as the chicle, ramon, and allspice trees, corozo palms, vanilla orchids, and guanacaste seeds on the ground. These all have multiple uses and these were explained to me as my eyes widened with each additional medicinal plant we crossed paths with.

There is a lot to explore at El Pilar, and my imagination was encouraged even further as I spotted shards of pottery and chert pieces on the ground on the walk through the park, I think by this point I really believed I was an archeologist. Narciso said that his great great great grandparents must have been speaking to him that day, because he was lucky enough to find pieces of shining obsidian on the forest ground. When I came to Plaza Copal, the presence of the Maya became overwhelming, similar to sensations of witnessing the massive Tikal, this center makes it very clear how grand El Pilar must have been in its time. Because this site is so special, however, the forest grows and molds itself to protect these monuments, which inspires the mind's eye even further. The shape of the large monument to the East is extremely clear to any viewer, with its outstretching wings from the larger center pyramid section, and the gradual slope in front of it lends the viewer the image of stairs mounting toward the large temple. This is truly a special place.

After a week of being in Central America with Anabel and hearing every last opinion of El Pilar without actually being there, I finally got to view it myself and come up with my own feelings toward this Maya site. After witnessing destruction at Tikal, and then getting the experience of El Pilar, I cannot express how important a place like this is and the necessity of archeology under the canopy in order to preserve what remains, and to allow the human imagination space to flourish. If you have ever dreamed of becoming an archeologist, El Pilar is the experience you have been waiting for.

Incredible Don Felipe Lanza

2011-05-20T17:18:00.002-07:00

Ready to circumnavigate the large lake Peten Itza, a final stop was made when Anabel passed a familiar street and mentioned this amazing man with great knowledge of the forest plants we were about to view in Tikal. This was just one of the many surprises that we were offered. With a little encouragement from Kippy, the car quickly turned around to see if in fact the great Don Filipe was home.

We pulled up to a modest house with vibrant blue paint bleached away from its façade, Anabel knocked on the door and peeked through the gate to see a sign of Filipe, we almost gave up when a small voice and a shuffling was heard by the door. Our unsuspected visit was welcomed with open arms and he quickly gathered enough chairs in his front room for Anabel, Ron, Kippy, and me to sit in as he regaled us with his stories of the history of the Petén area, and wowed us with his written work documenting the plants in the jungle and stacks of notes about El Petén de Ayer.

The faces of Anabel and Ron lit up as Don Filipe shared his knowledge and views of the World. Every person in the room seemed content to stay all night talking with Don Filipe and exploring his great mind, however our plans for Tikal had to tear us away. Yet again, with some influence from Kippy, we were able to enjoy another visit with Don Filipe when later he accompanied us to Zacaria’s forest garden. The knowledge of history, plant, animals, and agriculture among was electric, and the warm heart and great mind of Don Filipe was truly “incredible,” as he would say with animation in a perfect American accent.

Zacarias’ High Performance Milpa

2011-05-20T17:18:00.001-07:00

One of the major reasons for Ron’s visit was for us to experience the Rancho of Zacarias and for Ron to appreciate the intensification model of his strategies. Our attempt Saturday was unsuccessful but we were intent to try again. Getting in touch with Zacarias is always a challenge, but we made a connection Sunday afternoon and arranged to meet him early Monday for a quick review of his current work at El Triumfo.

Monday morning after a breakfast at Hotel Peten Ron, Kippy, Ada , and Anabel stopped at Felipe Lanza’s and we all went to San Andres to meet Zacarias and drive the 11 km to his rancho. Everything went like clock work. It was incredible.

When we arrived at Zacarias’ he was ready and we gathered ourselves together and drove out. He had all the keys our problem on Saturday was just that, with 2 gates and our vehicle, we decided not to walk in. Now we drove in, and stopped where his house and animals were and got ready for the tour. Felipe and Zacarias enjoyed chatting on the way up and while they did not know each other before were steeped in the Petén of Ayer…

Zacarias knew we were short of time and asked just what we wanted to focus on. The milpa – a recent burn, the last year’s field and the older one from several years ago. With purpose he strode ahead and Ron kept with him as the rest straggled along. We arrived at the first

area; this was covered with squash and had been burned in the last 2 months. Squash blossoms abounded but so did the squash, large, round green. They were ready to plant maize in this field that day. Then he took us to another a short way above the first one. This had been burned in the past few weeks and little leaves of maize were showing among the spouting tree stumps and charcoal limbs.

He explained to us as we stood in the shade of the 7 year orchard of waning banana and leafy young Allspice, Ceiba, Malerio, Mahogany and Cedar, that this field had a different purpose and thus did not have the need for the squash. He was planning for more trees here. He would not make any plans for another hot burn until the trees had matured maybe in 30 years. He hoped his son would inherit this future.

He then took us to the milpas of the last 3 years where you could see how the annual crops were soon to give way to the papaya and banana that would end in 7 years when the diverse fruit trees he had as saplings provided more shade. These milpas – side by side – demonstrate the management skill Zacarias uses in the micro environments. Moxan, preferring waterlogged areas were interspersed in the low areas, macal above, pineapple and habanero together, citrus and allspice saplings in between. It is hard to gather in all the plants that are together here. Ron asked many questions and once we were on our way back he marveled out loud how complex his system was. We told Zacarias we would be back in several weeks.

We drove back into the central area and invited Felipe to lunch with us at Yaxha in Flores. We enjoyed a quick lunch while several people talked to me after my lecture on Friday. We enjoyed our last moments with Ron and Kippy and let Felipe off in Sta Elena for his trip home as we left the area for our uneventful drive back to Cayo.

Arriving in the Maya Forest and Lecture in Petén

2011-05-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ada Sadler and Anabel Ford landed late morning on the 12^th May on Continental form Houston. Exhausted Andres Romero fetched us at Belize International Airport and transported us to BRASS Base in Cayo. We had one nights bare rest to sustain us for the drive to Petén where Anabel would give a lecture to the Centro Universitaria de El Petén.

The trip from Cayo to Sta Elena was to prove trying. Arriving at the border we discovered that there were no vehicle papers, so Anabel returned to find them at BRASS Base. The delay put us very late into the central area where we had meetings with Suamy Agular of Naturaleza Para la Vida and Anabel’s close colleague Ron Nigh. Luck was with us and at the designated time of 3 pm Ron and Kippy arrived at the Petén Esplendido with a view of the lake. This is where the lecture was scheduled.

The time of the lecture was 6 pm and there was an audience of students from CUDEP as well as tour guides. The lecture focused on the importance of the Milpa Cycle and the co-creative land use of the ancient Maya. Anabel held the attention of the audience, asking questions and eliciting responses to her ideas. As she talked about wet and dry seasons, we experienced a spectacular rainstorm that obscured the lake Petén Itza and Flores beyond.

The event lasted late and it was after 8 pm when we went out for dinner at Las Puertas with Ron and Kippy. Anabel hosted the reunion, Carlos, the proprietor, and his friends played music into the evening, and we enjoyed Christina’s Chilean fare for our dinner. Ron and I discussed and debated on the milpa cycle, the lake sediments, and the value of pollen …. But I was waning -- we finally called it an evening while they went to Hotel Petén and we to Jaguar Inn Sta Elena.

Tikal, Petén, Guatemala

2011-05-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

By Ada Sadler

To start off my journey and volunteer program in Belize working with Anabel Ford, the first thing we did upon arrival was take off to Guatemala. After Anabel’s talk in Santa Elena, Ron and Kippy Nigh, Anabel, and I circumnavigated Lake Petén Itzá to get to our destination, Tikal. On route we stopped at the beautiful restaurant Las Orchedias for a small lunch and a rare treat in the jungle, ice cream sundaes! The great company and excellent food captured our attention, making our arrival to Tikal a late one.

The road into the Tikal reserve is vastly different from that just miles from its borders. This protected area is verdant and at times seems to surround the road in a sort of “jungle tunnel.” Ron, Kippy, Anabel, and I stayed at the Jaguar Inn, where we met with friends and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the beautiful tropical atmosphere.

The next morning Anabel gave us the expedited tour of Tikal. The site itself is powerfully overwhelming and emanates the great authority the Maya once had here. The structures rise above the canopy, stating their presence to the skies, and the large structures in the Grand Plaza bring your head to a tilt in order to view its entirety.

I was lucky enough to have Anabel Ford as my guide,

for she was able to bring an entirely different meaning to the site of Tikal for me. She was able to physically show us the deterioration of the monuments, picking up piles of limestone dust fallen from the Maya masonry due to the lack of proper protection. It became clear that monuments exposed to the heat of the sun will dry out, and crumble to ruins without shade from trees, or the moisture of moss and other plants.

One sad moment for Anabel came after emerging from the jungle upon a site that was once one of her favorites in all of Tikal. A large tree that once shaded this house shrine was carelessly chopped at its base, exposing the limestone to the harsh rays of the Guatemalan sun. The damage was already apparent as the moss and green vegetation was absent in some

areas and the limestone deteriorating. The evidence that archeology under the canopy protects and saves these monuments for the future was overwhelmingly apparent here.

The beauty and power of Tikal is like nothing I have experienced before, this enormous site embodies the strength of the Maya. However, as we expose these

monuments they truly become ruins and it is our hands that are destroying the legacy of the Maya here at Tikal. The almost permanent scaffolding on Temple I becomes a statement of our time, and whether we create a contemporary view of the Maya in our “restorations” or allow their monuments to speak for themselves. These monuments must be kept intact for our knowledge about the Maya world to grow. The special angle in which I got to view Tikal truly demonstrates the importance of sites like El Pilar, and the necessity for archeology under the canopy.

Earth Day in Santa Barbara 16-17 April 2011

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ESP went to the park! Alameda Park that is. Situated in the Harvest to Home section of the event, sharing the booth with the Permaculture Guild and just across from the Edible Santa Barbara set up, we regaled visitors from all over Southern California.

People learned of the importance of the Maya forest garden and the potentials of Archeology Under the Canopy at the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna. The weekend was remarkably warm and the sun shone brilliantly on the crowds that swarmed around the park booths and stage events.

Our presentations were cheerfully explained by our team of great volunteers: Bria Pagliaro, Richard White, Cody Leeds, Mimi Bradley, Allison Jaqua, Khan Tran, and a variety of others in and out. Our displays are always engaging, and we have our postcards with Macduff Everton’s photos and the Maya syllabary to capture children to write their names!

We handed out cuttings of the Maya chaya that we handed out to those who wanted novel tree spinach in their own yard to enjoy in stead of the ordinary spinach we get at the farmers market. This is our third year of chaya distribution in SantaBarbara and we hear back from people on the progress of their plant. We learn that some end up as raccoon casualties, others are flourishing in yards, some are in producing edible leaves in a windowsill, and some are slow to catch. We assure them not to worry. Chaya – a perennial tropical shrub -tends to hibernate in our colder months but promises to put out buds in the spring.

In all we had a great weekend connecting with like minded souls who want to see the one earth thrive!

New York for the Explorers Club Annual Dinner

2011-04-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

March 19^th saw the new presence of Exploring Solutions Past~The Maya Forest Alliance at the Explorers Club Annual Dinner featuring the Maya (before it is too late!) Marla Daily, Director of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation was our host. We joined some 1,100 of the world’s best and brightest field scientists, astronauts, cosmologists, paleontologists, cavers, archaeologists, submariners, students, and kindred spirits, will convene to hear keynote speaker Dr. Don Walsh, the commander of bathyscaphe Trieste (which descended to the deepest ocean depths in the Mariana Trench some 50 years ago), and a cast of luminaries hold forth on science, exploration, and ventures into the darkest wherever. You can see the El Pilar was in good company!

Making the travel across the nation worthwhile we made other connections. The visit the American Museum of Natural History was the highlight taking in the archived collections in Anthropology as well as Entomology. We were able to see the new bee database, inventorying data from the world!

http://research.amnh.org/iz/bee-database-project

Wonderfully the data base and the collections include hundreds of bees form Belize! Many of these bees have very specific flower species that they pollinate and thus gives one an idea of the biodiversity that is represented in the marvelous Maya forest. I was delighted to have a chance to see these animals that have played such a critical role in the pollination of the flowering plants of the Maya forest, 98% that include bees, birds, and bats!

We walked the city, took in the architectural history, and had a chance to connect with colleagues. We had lunch with artist Anne Grifalconi in Greenwich Village. She participated in the El Pilar project in the late 90s and had made a beautiful image of the the Maya forest garden. We also had a chance to meet with Anthropologist Barbara Price for dinner at one of her favorite haunts, the Fatty Crab, for a remarkable meal and anthropological talk.

March 1-3 Chrsitina Seibe visits from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

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Christina Siebe spent most of 3 days in a concentrated seminar-workshop bringing the clay and volcanic ash issues to light in the context of soil studies. The intense discussions and debates centered on the experience of Christina’s with soil studies in Mexico and the basic data resulting from Anabel Ford’s research at El Pilar. We were joined by UCSB colleagues Frank Spera, Volcanologist, Oliver Chadwick, Environmental Scientist, and Keith Clarke Geographer. The dynamic provided rich discussions and debates.

Beginning from the presence of volcanic ash shards in ancient Maya pottery sherds, discussions widened the focus from the impact of ashfall in the Late Classic providing materials for the Maya pottery production to the source of the interpreted erosion feature of “Maya Clay” identified in the lake cores of the Maya forest. What is the interplay of the ancient Maya adaptation that impacted the forest structure and provides the platform for traditional farmers today?

The major question: Rise of the Classic Maya documented for 1000BC to 1000 AD under interpreted conditions of deforestation, erosion, and reduced lacustrine productivity. We see alternative explanation of external inputs -- such as volcanic ash-- and adaptation to changing landscape conditions. These were the discussions of our 3 day intensive workshop.

Our March workshop sessions:

Day one: presentation of summary data on the volcanic ash problem and settlement Milpa cycle – Forest Garden land use model

Day two: concentrated workshop with Frank and Oliver on extant data and potentials for identifying relationships of land use and environmental changes in the Maya forest

Day three: team concludes that the main theme is sustainability in the Maya forest, data needed are present field study of soil vulnerability and resilience, past understanding of Maya clay, and future modeling based on past and present data results.

Travels in the Maya Forest with Fr. Richard

2011-02-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

My travels to the Maya forest in February were hinged to my plan to meet Fr Ricahrd Walz of Subiaco Abby in Arkansas. For a dozen years beginning in 1991, I had rented space in the Sta Familia Center, a retreat building at the Sta Familia Monastery in Cayo Belize. Fr Richard was the prior there and we came to be good friends. We keep in touch and he serves on the ESP~Maya Advisory Board. It had been at least eight years since I had seen him. He had several important contributors at Subiaco who wanted to see his old stomping grounds and I offered to give them a rare view into the Maya world. It was a real adventure!

We all flew under different schedules. I met Mimi Bradley from Sta Barbara at the airport when I arrived and we traverse the width of Belize, some 70 miles, to BRASS Base, my field base of operations. I had promised Fr. Richard that I would insure a pick up and that I arranged with Armando, my trusted taxista from Benque Viejo. Fr. Richard arrived later and was billeted at the old monastery now run by Sacred Heart College as a learning center on behalf of the local diocese. By the evening of the 11th the group had assembled and we all had dinner at the Aguada in Sta Elena not far from my base and Sta Famlia Center.

The next five days were intense with seven total moving from the town to villages and El Pilar. Traveling to Flores and Tikal in Guatemala. All the time sharing meals together. Intense and remarkable; Fr. Richard’s team included Danny, Joe, and Glenn and Maria. Each brought a wealth of experience, diverse backgrounds and a tether to the high school at Sibiaco. We all learned so in our travels together.

I created the itinerary that took us to El Pilar and a walking tour that Mimi’s pedometer clocked at 7 miles. After a rainy night we enjoyed a dry day until the end when the rain returned in earnest. We started at my favorite spot, Tzunu’un with the ancient Maya house and forest garden. I noted that there was a ground mole wracking havoc with the palms there. Still the verdant ferns, shrubs and trees caused Danny to exclaim how he had some of the plants in his protected home area and here they were bigger than life. We then went to Copal and followed the causeway to Poniente, back to the LDF chert site and the Xaman Pilar acropolis. With a magnificent view to the west toward Tikal, we saw the rain resume and took brisk and wet return to the vehicle.

The next day was Saturday and went to the weekly market for fruits, pageantry, and encounters that makes the market valuable. For midday, Israel Rivera, long time friend of Fr. Richard’s and employee of the old monastery, invited all of us to lunch at his village Sta Familia. Israel has multiple roles, he is also the secretary of the El Pilar Forest Garden Network and the Network group was included in the event and we all walked in the misty weather up to the Kanan Kaax primary school site to enjoy the development of the education model. The whole group walked with the forest gardeners and learned about their plot, plans and potentials.

That evening Fr. Richard celebrated Mass a the old monastery chapel attended by a number of friends who provided a pot luck dinner for all. The Mass included Fr. Richards reflections of his love of Belize, his joy at being back, and his commitment as a Benedictine monk. Everyone was delighted with his presence and enjoyed sharing dinner with all of us.

Sunday was more leisurely in the morning , but we were off to the border and meeting the van for the interior Peten by 11:30. We made several stops on the way to Remate where we met Natalia with family and Jenny form England for a lunch at Las Orchedias…Yum! Jenny is Natalia and Edmund’s aunt and it was a treat to have some time on her last day in Guate before departing home. Everyone enjoyed the Italian themed lunch and we were able to get into Sta Elena and Jaguar Inn in time for the team to take some time in Flores. I spent time with Jenny and the family.

With various activities in the AM we got to Tikal in the late Morning so we had a lunch before going into the park for our long afternoon walk. I went up to talk with the Director, Elmer Tun who was happy to meet Fr. Richard and disposed support for our walk into the site. I had asked about visiting the site at night. It was a bit cloudy but promised to be a lovely night and Francisco, my friend from the 2008 trip on the Brecha Anabela, was able to be our guide. The day took us from the Twin Pyramid groups Q and P, to the Teotihuacan building behind Temple 1, on to Maler, the Great Plaza and the Northern Acropolis, Temple 5, the 7 temples and Mundo Perdido, up to the top of 4 and back via the masks to G. That gets a rounded view of the monument. We got back by 6 pm. We had dinner and a core group headed to the site at night. Francisco was a great guide and he had a flashlight!

We planned an early morning start but once at the limit of the park where the Canopy Zip line Tour was, we stopped for the experience. Only Fr Richard and I waited it out. We made a stop at he Caoba book store now with jades, and then again at the Remate wood arisanias. Then we got moving. Andres had been waiting for us 2 hours when he sought help to find out what might have happened. In the end it was 12 noon not 9 Am when we crossed back to Cayo. That afternoon Fr Richard and company walked Cayo while I worked. Orelina made dinner for all of us that night at her place, it was a buffet of traditions with relleno negro, escabeche and tamlitos. I bought flan for all. Orfelina and her girls gave us a magnificent finale that culminated our travels with Fr. Richard! The whole group had a grand time and now the events are wonderful memories. This was our farewell to Fr Richard and his group. I would stay on for more work in the region with visits to Belmopan, Flores, and Guatemala.

University of Texas Austin Feb 7th

2011-02-22T13:46:00.001-08:00

It was a sunny morning in Santa Barbara but it was literally freezing in Austin Texas. My scheduled lecture in the Geography Department was nearly canceled for snow! But even with the snow, I was able to meet with students for lunch, meet with key faculty on convergent subjects, and give the lecture on time to a dedicated audience who took to the icy streets to share the afternoon with me.

The Geography department generously hosted the trip where I met with Jennifer Miller, Rebecca Torres, and Ken Young for a great dinner before it started to snow. Later, I was able to meet with Rob Dull on volcanic ash in the Maya area and the importance of Ilopango dating. I had time with Fred Valdez to talk about archaeology in Belize. On the weekend I joined Bill Doolittle for dinner as well.

Curiously, while having lunch with the students (see the picture) I was sighted by good friends from Mexico. Note that I am sitting at the window, there talking with the students and sharing salads, Ana Luisa Izquierdo from UNAM and company were sauntering down the sidewalk when they recognized me! It was a grand reunion and totally unexpected.

In total it was a great visit where the unusual feature of snow that closed the Capital!

Santa Barbara Seed Swap

2011-02-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 29^th ESP-Maya headed over to the Santa Barbara Library to participate in the 3^rd annual Santa Barbara Community Seed Swap. Sponsored by the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, this was an opportunity to share seeds, cuttings, plants, and information with gardeners, farmers, and plant lovers in general. This seed swap encourages locally adapted plant varieties to be passed along to future generations, much like what our own forest gardeners are doing.

With a bucket full of Chaya cuttings and lots of information to hand out, the afternoon was spent educating the crowd on the forest gardeners and the important work going on at El Pilar. Our beautiful table presentations were a point of discussion for our team: Anabel Ford , Allison Jaqua, Cody Leeds, and Bria Pagliaro.

Young and old alike took an interest in our table, including a visit from a previous mayor (Marty Blum) and other old friends of ESP-Maya. There were many other groups sharing their knowledge, their seeds, and their stories. In the background we were all treated to the music of the Honeysuckle Possums and the Scrub Jays.

By the end of the day all of the Chaya had been given away to find new homes in the greater Santa Barbara area. If even half of them are successful we are spreading our Chaya word!

Exploits of the Belize Dignitaries

2011-02-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

Wine tasting at the Santa Barbara Winery

Dinner with their hosts

Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens

Belize meets Santa Barbara

2011-01-28T17:53:00.000-08:00

We hosted a Belizean Cultural Delegation from 22-26 January. The key to the visit was the renewal of our collaborative memorandum of understanding. Our dignitaries Diane Haylock, President of the National Institute of Culture and History, and George Thompson, Acting Director of the Institute of Archaeology, enthusiastically endorsed our new El Pilar MOU.

Diane Haylock is no newcomer to California but this was her first visit to our wonderful city! After the gala reception hosted at the SB Historical Museum where Mayor Helene Schnieder invited her to put SB on her next California itinerary, she affirmed her wish to return and spend more time here. George Thompson was equally impressed with our fair city, but was most envious of the fine secure and environmentally sound collection storage he was shown by Anthropology Curator John Johnson while visiting the SB Natural History Museum.

On the UCSB campus for the signing, Diane and George were able to see the habitat restoration program of Cheadle Center for Biological and Ecological Restoration, headed by Jennifer Thorsch, have lunch with a diverse set of colleagues at the Faculty Club, and meet Chancellor Henry Yang at his conference room for the signing. They, of course had time to review our MesoAmerican Research Center lab operation where Jonathan Pagliaro is completing the ceramic study, observe maps of our Maya forest GIS work with Connie Christiensen, meet with Allison Jaqua assembling the Milpa plant data base, and appreciate the activities of the center.

Their sweep of the city included a picnic at the SB Botanical Garden, a visit with Director Irma Kromis at the Casa Dolores, a special tour at Lotusland with remarkable docent Chris Walden,and a stoll of the rose garden and Mission grounds with Randy Fox, an insider view of the facilities of the SB Trust for Historic Preservation with Jerry Jackman. They were certainly able to see the highlights, but we all know there is more.

End of Year Happenings

2011-01-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Fall was as busy as it was complex for the team working on El Pilar. Jonathan Pagliaro commandeered a fleet of students who worked on the ceramics bringing most of the ceramic collection into our analyses at the end of the year. Anabel Ford went off to Sweden where she built collaborative ties with Christian Isendahl and other colleagues at Uppsala University (where Celsius and Linnaeus worked) and Stockholm’s Resilience Center hosted by Carole Crumley. Anabel gave lectures on the origins of the Maya forest along the way.

http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/Forskning/Forskningspresentationer/Christian_Isendahl/

http://www.stockholmresilience.org/contactus/staff/crumley.5.7cf9c5aa121e17bab42800043232.html

She made a working holiday in the Maya forest in December by meeting with Ron Nigh in Chiapas to work on their book on the Maya forest garden. Ron introduced Moises Morales, a long time forest gardener and Palenque character. Ron and Kippy flank him in this picture.

Check out the new online publication, Popular Archaeology, that featured El Pilar and the Maya forest garden: http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/january-2011/article/the-legacy-of-el-pilar-the-maya-forest-garden

And on the topic of the Maya forest, Allison Jaqua has joined our team to research the plants of the milpa. We are discovering the plants that people may think of as weeds have important uses from medicine to roofing. This is not surprise for Gene Anderson Emeritus Professor UC Riverside or Francisco Rosado-May Founding Rector Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo:

“Significantly, there is no Maya word for ‘weed,’ in the sense of a plant that is purely a pest. The weed concept has come recently, along with the Spanish word for it (maleza). Plaga, ‘pest,’ has also entered the vocabulary, to refer to insect pests-- since Maya has no good equivalent, though evaluative words like k'as, "bad," are applied freely.” E. N. Anderson 2005, Political Ecology in a Yucatec Maya Community

For his PhD at UC Santa Cruz, Rosado-May focused on the role of weeds in the management of agroecosystems. “In Tabasco, farmers believe that once you learn how to manage weeds properly, they become your allies, not your enemies,” said Rosado-May. Learn about the new Intercultural Maya University: www.uimqroo.edu.mx

Things are happening. Stay tuned.

About El Pilar

2010-11-08T04:56:00.000-08:00

To learn about El Pilar, take a look at these websites:

MesoAmerican Research Center: www.marc.ucsb.edu. This site has our field reports and reflects the more academic aspects of our project.

Exploring Solutions Past: The Maya Forest Alliance: www.espmaya.org. This site, for our non-profit organization, is more of an educational overview of our work with a greater focus on our community involvement.

The El Pilar Forest Garden Network: www.mayaforestgardeners.org. We believe so much in the Maya forest garden that we made a website all about it! It has some great resources, including our database of plants showcasing the biodiversity of the milpa and forest garden.

2 Oct: Sol Food Festival

2010-10-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

El Pilar at the first-annual Sol Food Festival (www.solfoodfestival.com) We are promoting sustainable, organic, and local food systems, proved to be a great success. Our ESP~Maya team was there imparting knowledge to many of the interested people in attendance. We spoke to local farmers, chefs, teachers and students. We even showed kids how to write their names in Mayan! We heard stories from folks who had visited Maya sites and were eager to hear our point of view. We introduced the extraordinary Chaya (Maya tree spinach) to gardeners too numerous to count.

A walk through the Festival revealed new ways to eat locally and seasonally. No surprise then that here was a lot of yummy food prepared on site. Salads, veggie sushi, pies and pizza were among the fresh fare. A real highlight was the Chef Competition that took place between 3 local chefs. They were given the secret ingredient (avocado, a Maya forest tree!) just before the clock started. They ran across to the local farmers market to gather ingredients then frantically raced to create their dishes, ultimately judged by a real Iron Chef.

There were a myriad of subjects to learn about. Bees, composting, chickens and raw food preparation were all popular. A crowd favorite was learning how to crack an ostrich egg to feed twenty people! One booth encouraged folks to take up the “plastic challenge” by living without it. All-in-all it was a long and rewarding day, and an experience we are eagerly looking forward to again next year!

Au revoir!

2010-08-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week marked major changes in the MARC lab. Monday we celebrated the Bon Voyage of the French interns with a bottle of the sparkly and a lift to the Airbus. As they departed, they left their projects in good order. While they were industrious and quiet they are loudly missed. We now miss our exposure to French and they are better in English!

A Summer with Spatial Engineering Interns

2010-08-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Summer 2010 at the MesoAmerican Research Center meant hosting 3 French interns from the Ecole Supérieure de Géomètres et Topographes, ESGT (www.esgt.cnam.fr), in Le Mans. Working with the Maya Forest GIS, Hugo Racinay, Yohann Lallier and Alexandre Lemay all delved into projects that developed and improved our database on the Maya. Adapting to the US, adjusting to the summer student life of UCSB, and visiting the highlights of California shaped their experiences in Santa Barbara. Working Monday through Friday in our lab, they took advantage of the weekends with marathon drives around the state, seeing Los Angeles, San Francisco via the Big Sur, as well as Yosemite, Kings and Sequoia National Parks.
Their projects in the lab exposed them to a variety of challenges in the context of the GIS. Hugo worked on many small projects finding success and identifying problems with mapping data we had in our archives. Yohann focused on the development of the regional archaeological sites, scanning maps, drawing footprints based on differing scales, and rectifying locations based on air photos that he had to georeference. Alex worked exclusively with the local scale BRASS/El Pilar area, establish distance buffers based on the predictive model and of soils for the BRASS Transects and the propagated settlement distributions. Together, with their well -described metadata (Connie thanks!), they have contributed to new levels of understanding of ancient Maya settlement and improved data layers for our research.
Their time has now come to an end. Today at lunch we celebrated our good fortune and the great work that we accomplished over the summer.

I want to thank Anabel for this internship. These two months were very short but I learned a lot. The work was very interesting. This internship was a great experience and I think I remember it for a long time. Thank you for everything. ~Yohann .

As my friend Yohann, I want to thank Anabel, Connie, Keith and all people who help us during these two months at UCSB. It was a great experience for us because we have learned to work with the GIS software, which could be very helpful for us later, and it was interesting to discover the archeology. And California was a very nice location. ~Alex

It is already the end of our internship. Two months are very short but I discovered the archeologist ‘s work, it was a new thing for me. It was interesting to work with people who don’t speak the same language. Thanks to all people for their help and their hospitality. I really like California and I am sad we couldn’t visit more. I will come back as soon as possible. ~ Hugo

Our three frogs (Hugo, Yohann, et Alex), Anabel, Deanna, and I joined a regular Wednesday crepe night at Pacific Crepes downtown this past week. The crepes were authentic, named affectionately for various regions of France, and made in the traditional manner by a family operation uprooted from Bretagne and transported here to Santa Barbara. In attendance at one long communal table were 18 American Francophiles headed by Jeff. Our frogs had a chance to hobnob with other authentic Frenchies and drink a little real French wine, and generally feel at home in a traditional bistro atmosphere of conviviality. I think we will all miss them!
~Maggie

OVER THE BORDER TO TIKAL

2010-06-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday through Thursday, Anabel, Cody, Narcisso, Henri Dunster, and I went on a short trip to Guatemala to see Tikal and visit Zacarias’ milpa (no solo maize!) in San Andres. It was officially my fourth time in Guatemala on this trip, but I cannot get enough of its rich culture and pure physical beauty. I especially could not leave Central America before seeing Tikal, considering how close we were from BRASS base. The trip was a great success. Tikal was fascinating and Zacharias’ farm was impressive.

On Tuesday, the team arrived at Tikal late in the day. There was only a few hours left before the park closed, so we decided to walk up to the site and watch the sunset. Anabel stayed back because she was feeling under the weather. But she promised to take us on her famous “the good, the bad, and the ugly” tour in the morning. So we set off, Cody and I were excited because we have never visited Tikal before, Henri was intrigued because he hadn’t been back since 1977, and Narcisso was happy to be back once again.

I found Tikal to be beautiful. The Grand Plaza was definitely a site to see. Temple I was overwhelming and Temple II humbling. We were able to climb up Temple II where Narcisso and Cody pretended to sacrifice me. But we left there quickly to catch the sunset from top of Temple IV. On our walk through the winding paths of Tikal, we saw and heard howler and spider monkeys. The jungle was alive and full of noises! Luckily on our visit there were barely any tourists to be seen. It felt like we were the only people at the park.

Reaching the top of Temple IV was an amazing experience. Cody, Narcisso, and I enjoyed stunning views of the Petén and the tops of the other temples. The temperature was perfect and in the distance was a rainbow and I could see the moon almost full. We could hear the loud exclamations of animals and birds. The park was closing so we had to leave, however it was just in time for sunset and we caught a glimpse of the fiery orange behind us right before we started to climb down Temple IV. It was a serene and beautiful experience, but as beautiful as it was I knew that there were crucial and existing problems throughout Tikal that Anabel would shed light on the following morning.

There is nothing more enjoyable then walking around an ancient Maya city with a Maya Archaeologist. Anabel gave us such a wonderful and detailed tour of Tikal. She definitely showed us the good, bad, and ugly. It is tragic to see these monuments crumble so rapidly along with blank spaces in the forest where beautiful trees once stood before they were unnecessarily chopped down. It was not until Tikal that the process of Archaeology Under the Canopy fully sunk in. It looms crucial to me now. The forest cover is more than needed to maintain and preserve these monuments. I feel lucky I was able to see them before they got even worse.

Next up… Zacarias’ Maya forest garden …

30 GIGGLING SMILES, 60 DIRTY HANDS, AND A THRIVING FOREST GARDEN: A DAY IN KANAN KAAX PRIMARY SCHOOL GARDEN.

2010-06-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 17^th 2010

On Thursday, June 17^th we had Rodolfo Tun’s class come learn in the Kanan Kaax garden located on their campus at Sta. Familia Primary school. The students have been visiting the garden once a week to get their hands dirty and plant a tree in the garden. It was a lot of fun working with the forest gardeners and the children to plant a mahogany tree, lime tree, banana tree, and red cedar tree. We provided the students with beautiful maps of the Kanan Kaax that Jessi and I plotted together. Jessi did a beautiful job artistically improving and updating the map for the children. On the map we named each section with its specific Maya name and plot number. On the back we provided Mayan words and numbers for the children to learn. The children enjoyed attempting to say the Mayan words and explore the garden using their maps. Anabel gave a lesson on how to use their maps and had them do a mapping exercise that was very successful. She broke the students up into groups of five and gave them a four meter piece of string and distributed the groups into different sections of the garden. We actually ran out of string, so Narcisso found a tree that he could peel the Mojagua bark off to make a strong natural string. The students had to lay their strings into a circle and then record how many plants were within the circle. It was quite amazing to see the high numbers the students reported back with. One group had about 25 plants within the small space! No students found less than 10. After they counted and named the plants, the students had to use the back of the map to say their number in Mayan. It was a really effective activity and the students were all concentrated and engaged.

La Hermanidad de Pantalones Viajeros: The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants

2010-06-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

From the 3rd to the 13th of June we traveled to Mexico to spend a week at the Society for Economic Botany meetings in Xalapa Mexico. Beatrice Waight told us we needed a candle of la Vigen de Guadalupe to light and think of her for safe travels. So we did, but it was with some trepidation that we undertook the trip… Driving from Belize to Mexico is not a picnic; we would cross borders, face traffic, and take directions that may not get us to where we want to go. Dubious but game, Jessi and Natasha, our team, spurred me on and we took the chance. I was unsure, but the optimism of my team was infectious. Now when Jessi and Natasha arrived they had little or no experience with standard transmissions so there was that challenge too. But, by the end of our 10 days in Mexico they were accomplished champions of the stick shift and that experience enriched by la Mexicanidad!

The itinerary was simple and involved 4 legs. The first was our departure from Cayo Belize to Flores Petén for the night. I was not prepared to cross 2 borders in one day. Crossing into Guatemala at Melchor and staying at the Jaguar inn in Sta Elena was familiar. I visited and dined with Natalia and chatted with Edmund, both owners of the hotel as well as the one at Tikal. I was glad to start the long trip in this way.

On the sencond leg to Xalapa, we first crossed into Mexico via El Ceibo only 60 km from Tenosique Tabasco. This was not a major problem except they required $400 in cash as a deposit that I would supposedly get back on my return. We got into Villahermosa before dark and without problems.

The next day we dove all the way to Xalapa, taking the Autopista listed as Cuota wherever we could. We arrived in Xalapa with only one wrong turn at Paso de Toro. We even included a stop at La Antigua to witness Cotez’ first house in Mexico. Curiously our directions into the hotel did not really tell us how to recognize our turn to Ruiz Cortines, but we asked a taxi and he said the last light… who would know that? But we actually made the correct left turn and found ourselves in the right place! That was Saturday the 5th and we stayed for all the days of the meetings until the 11th.

The third leg was to Mexico DF. This would be the real challenge. Happily, the autopista was empty, it was the start of the Mundial and Mexico was first playing South Africa. N fact at some of the cuota stops the attendant had to run out to collect our tolls, he was most interested in the game. As we approached the city, things started to be more clogged but my friend Carol Miller’s directions took us over under around the thru…. And in record time of 4 hours we were at her home in Pedregal without incident.

There to fetch 14 boxes of books on the Maya, we left on the forth and last leg of our journey in the morning and 10 hours later and 1100 pesos in tolls, we were back in Villahermosa. The next day we covered 3 countries, crossed 2 borders, in one truck driven by la hemanidad de pantaloes viajeros. A fabulous comida in DF on Friday and collapsed in our BRASS Base beds in Cayo on Sunday. Olympian!

Our purpose to be at the Economic Botanist meetings was rewarded many times over. I had been invited through Arturo Gomez Pompa, an inspiration to me in so many ways. I was delighted to have a place at the conference and excited to share my thoughts with the economic botanists who knew so much more of the plants I have gotten to know through our Maya forest gardeners. Not surprisingly, many thought the same as we, substantial data were presented to corroborate my experiences, and there were colleagues ready to share and bring forward information that would be useful.

In all, the meetings were spectacular. It has been the highlight of my year and perhaps even my life. The whole event was one of solidarity and exchange. We ate communally for breakfast and lunch; events were scheduled for some of the evenings. We had a chance to visit markets, to try chiles of the region., to share common understanding. What could anyone ask for? Jessi and Natasha found common souls among the students who were there, and they were included in an ever-expanding group with wide ranging interests that hinged on the human plant relationships. We all were excited and enthused by the talks, the people, and the place.

One of the main reasons we drove was to collect the Maya books that Carol Miller wanted to unburden at her home. She had 14 boxes and the idea was that we would drive from Xalapa to DF spend the night and leave the very next day. This was the most tenuous part but also the most critical. We had the truck and we had the drivers now to get there.

Carol had written explicit instructions, to get us into the city from the Puebla for her and Tomas. With Jessi and Natasha reading the instructions and helping with the signs we made it. We left at 9 AM after fueling the truck and arrived just after 1 pm unscathed but I admit a bit stressed. Welcomed and situated, we first loaded up the boxes, then Carol gave Jessi and Natasha a tour of her house… the rooms of marvelous paintings, the studio with her recent sculptures, the library still with her many books now more focused on Persian hence her interest in Natasha and her Iranian background.

She had plans for comida with guests and a beautiful table set to include all of us. A comida with Carol conjured so many memories. Now this would be a new one. With her poblano friends with whom she would gallery hopping the next day, we enjoyed tamal de casuela… a yummy dish of mole and maize, a great cap on our week with the milpa; no solo maize! Ellie Duque my cousin came over and I was so glad to see her. In time for the fruit paletas we all enjoyed leaning they were from the Michoacana. Full and satisfied we all took our time with some talk and computer work in Carol’s study, but soon it was late and time to sleep. We would have our long day to Villahermosa the next day. Everything materialized like clockwork. We got back with ourselves, the new truck with 3000 more kilometers, and the boxes of Maya books to review. Did our daily supplication to la Vigen de Guadalupe help? And yes we wore pants.

Post by: Dr. Anabel Ford

A Morning with the kids in the Garden

2010-06-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 2, 2010

We met forest gardener and vice principle, Rodolfo Tun, at 10:00am on Wednesday at the Santa Familia RC Primary School. Rodolfo informed us that he and his class would meet us at 10:20am in the garden. Forest Gardeners, Narcisso Torres and Isreal Rivera, accompanied Anabel, Natasha and I on a walk from the Rodolfo’s classroom, and the school yard, an open field of grass, into the forested walkway that led to the Kanan Kaax school forest garden. We were greeted at the garden by forest gardeners, George Rivera, and Raymundo Quewell busily working on the garden. Soon we saw the students and Rodolfo emerge from the forested pathway.

You could see the kids faces light up in the garden. The students were very engaged and excited to be in the garden. We started with some lessons on common names of the plants, ranging from English, to Spanish, to Creole, to Maya. The importance of the Maya language was a key topic we covered. The Maya forest gardener Raymundo taught us how to say “xiw” (Maya for herb, pronounced something like SHEW). We spent a good amount of time trying to pronounce this word, creating a chorus of childrens’ voices annunciating “xiw” with varied success. Rodolfo, suggested for many Maya forest plants, you can just drop the last vowel of the Spanish word to approximate the Maya word. The students identified chaya. G s, and Rodolfo said it was “chay” in Mayan. It is called “tree spinach” in creole.

The students went around with their notebooks and pencils and observed and made notes of the new plant identification tags Natasha and I put up with the forest gardeners. A work in progress, these are identifying trees species around the garden. The tags include the family, genus species, as well as the common names. These will be for the children and the visitors alike to learn about the structure of the forest garden. The kids were given a homework assignment by their teacher, Rodolfo, to bring their own plant from home to establish it in the school garden. Soon after, we waved goodbye to the students as they disappeared back into the forest on their pathway back to the school yard.

POST BY: JESSI PERREN

A Magical Land of Lush Plants, Solar Power, and Composting Toilets.. Maya Mountain Research Farm!

2010-06-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

May 23rd, 2010

The Maya Mountain Research Farm (MMRF) is a wonderful place to visit. Anabel, Jessi, and I made a stop there on our way back from the Cacao Festival. Nestled up on a hill from a beautiful river in the Toledo District, outside of the town of San Pedro Columbia is where this biodiverse farm thrives. To get to the farm we had to take a dory ride 2 miles upriver, the dark clouds were ominous as rain was expected, however with our trusty guide Jorge we made it to the farm quickly and dry! The river was spectacular. We were welcomed by the MMRF team with the warmest of hospitality, situated into some great jungle bungalows, fed the most organic and scrumptious food, and entertained amidst hard work and divine vegetation!

Christopher Nesbitt, the director of MMRF and permaculture mastermind, has been developing and running this farm for the past twenty-two years. One of the many things that stood out about Chris, apart from his endless knowledge of plants, was his significant enthusiasm for his projects and farm. Although it was raining throughout our stay, Chris did not hesitate to give us a detailed tour of his property. MMRF is a great example of a biologically diverse food forest. I was making a rough inventory in my head of all the plants but there was so many to keep track of! I did recognize many plants that we have in the forest gardens of Cayo, although Chris invites more than just native species to enjoy his land. There were exotics such as coffee and noni, for example.

The facilities at MMRF were great and functional! My favorite being the incredible open air kitchen, I look forward to hopefully cooking there one day with fresh seasonal produce! Furthermore, the teaching galleria and extensive library were also impressive. We slept soundly in their guest quarters, some shared rooms and others more like guest houses.

MMRF is a non-profit that hosts interns, students, volunteers, local people, and groups. The farm is a haven for people interested in sustainable agriculture, permaculture design, aquaponics, renewable energy, food forests, food security, organic cooking, and applied biodiversity. I personally want to go back there one day and further enrich my experience and knowledge of agroforestry! I would suggest that if anyone is interested in any of the areas I listed above and would like more information to visit their website: www.mmrfbz.org

We had such a great time and felt that we made a great connection. ESP~Maya hopes to collaborate and work with MMRF in the future, creating a network and family that promotes sustainable and efficient means of food production and conservation in Belize as well as worldwide!

Knees deep in chocolate! The Toledo Cacao Festival in Punta Gorda!

2010-06-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

MAY 21st to 23rd!

We were living a weekend long dream. Anabel, Jessi, and I traveled a little over four hours to Punta Gorda, Belize to attend the 3 day long Toledo Cacao Festival. We were bombarded by chocolate galore! From chocolate pieces, to chocolate wine, to chocolate BBQ sauce! It was definitely a gluttonous time! Our journey started in San Ignacio and from there we headed to Belmopan where we met up with Henri Dunster. Henri was heading down to the festival in his moving art gallery (tricked out van that converts into a mini gallery) and offered to caravan with us. Check out Henri's website to see his beautiful sketches of Maya sites www.mayadrawings.com . So with our trusty guide we zoomed down south through windy roads and over many bridges. We made a quick stop at the Maya site Nim Li Punit, which had gorgeous views and where we bumped into Archeologist Dr. Geoff Braswell (UC San Diego) and his student Megan doing some excavations. I was excited to see some archeology in action! After this short visit we made it into Punta Gorda where we rested up for the evening festivity: The Wine and Chocolate Evening held on the rooftop terrace of the University of Belize. And what a night it was! There was an assortment of delectable chocolate treats and a buffet of delicious food. A fantastic musician, Pablo Collado, played live music as we all mingled and ate chocolate and drank wine! The event was organized by the community and run by many young Peace Corp volunteers. It was interesting to talk with the Peace Corp volunteers about their experiences in Belize and it added a good mixture to the already diverse group of guests.

The second day was the Taste of Toledo cooking and craft fair held at the Punta Gorda seafront Petillo Park. It was a scorching hot day but that did not prevent us from enjoying our soursop ice cream and nibbling on soft half melted chocolate. There was some live music and dancing and it was nice to see the community all gather together.

The third day of the Festival was my personal favorite! The day started out with a tour of a cacao farm, from there we headed to the closing Cacao Festival activities which were held at the Maya site Lubaantun “the place of the fallen stone” and also where the supposed Crystal Skull was discovered. This event had a huge turnout! Locals, visitors from all over Belize, and international tourists all gathered to watch the Monkey Dance- a traditional Maya dance that is performed to influence the corn harvest, and listen to talks given by Dr. Braswell and Dr. Jaime Awe, director of the Institute of Archeology. Dr. Braswell took interested visitors on a small tour of the site, at which he leads current excavations, and gave a short overview of the structures and some history of the Maya. After that talk we walked over to the main plaza and listened to Dr. Awe discuss the Crystal Skull and its history. From his point of view the crystal skull is questionable, but many locals and Maya enthusiasts have an opposing opinion. The Festival closed with a very special performance by the “Three Kings of Belize”: Florencio Mes, Paul Nabor, and Wilfred Peters!

It was a fun pact weekend with heightened social activity, a nice break for us hard workers. However, by the end of the weekend we were all full and exhausted! We were ready to get back home and go back to our quiet and productive way of life. But we couldn’t leave Toledo without stopping by and visiting our friends at the Maya Mountain Research Farm which we were enthusiastic about visiting… but alas you must wait for the next blog for updates.

VISITING THE CAPITAL

2010-05-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Friday May 7, 2010

On Friday, Anabel, Mike, and I, had an action packed day during my first visit to the capital city, Belmopan. First we met with two different Ricks, Rick August, from Help for Progress, and Rick Simpson, to pick up the new vehicle in which a 2-meter radio had just been installed. We met up with Henri while waiting on the installation of the new 2-way radio. Our plan was to carpool with Henri to the George Price Center for Peace and Development to visit Ellie, then head to Henri's studio to view the model of El Pilar that he just completed. A ride with the British-born artist, Henri Dunster, now living in Belmopan with his wife, is no ordinary ride. We traveled in his souped-up van, complete with a fridge and bed, that converts into mobile art gallery. Upon arriving at his studio, we were greeted by the infamous “Big Cat Spotted at El Pilar,” a sweet yellow house cat that had once been jokingly photographed when found sleeping in his favorite spot among the plazas of the El Pilar model in Henri’s studio. The model was astounding. It really gives you a sense of what the El Pilar site might have looked like. The studio was full of Henri’s original drawings of various Maya ruins. We also got a look at Henri’s book on the ball game. Being a double major in Anthropology and Studio Art made this visit to Henri’s studio a special treat of combined interests!

http://www.progressbelize.org/
http://www.gpcbelize.com/
http://www.mayadrawings.com/

POST BY: JESSI PERREN

1ST VISIT TO EL PILAR: A REFRESHER COURSE ON MAPPING, AND AN INTRO TO THE TRAILS AND SITES

2010-05-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 10, 2010

Monday was the long awaited first visit to the El Pilar archaeological site. Since I have been hearing about and reading about this site for several years now after a professor, archaeologist, and former member of the BRASS/El Pilar 1995 team, Dr. Krista Lewis, made me aware of its existence, it was exciting to finally see it in the flesh!
The drive there was beautiful. I opted for sitting in the back of the truck to try and get some photos. First we felt the change from the main road and surrounding contemporary farm lands to a lush biodiverse forest.
Then we entered the world of what would have been the Maya food supply, the forest garden. Next we were able to imagine the structures and daily Maya life, as we walked through what would have been their “neighborhood.”

Natasha and I broke out our clipboards and compasses in order to get a refresher lesson on mapping sites. We defined our individual paces that would be used for future mapping of the Kanan K'aax school forest garden.
We ended our visit with a beautiful hike of the El Pilar site, going all the way to Pilar Poniente (West Pilar) in Guatemala. More blogs coming soon.

POST BY: JESSI PERREN

SOAPMAKING WITH TRADITIONAL MAYA FOREST GARDEN INGREDIENTS

2010-05-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

One enterprise we’ve developed from materials that come straight from the local Maya forest garden is the wonderful world of soap making. Still in the learning process and we have been having fun experimenting with different local and sustainable ingredients. Here are the fairly simple steps we took on Sunday.

Make soap with maize oil and cohune or corozo oil, using lye with allspice water (local ingredients only)
Make sure utensils used for lye are clearly labeled with skull and crossbones and never stored in the kitchen
Measure all ingredients on the scale
Slowly pour lye into the water while stirring
Put thermometer in lye/water, let cool to 100 degrees
Mix measured oils and warm in the hot sun
Put thermometer in oil
Mix the oil and water/lye once they are both 100 degrees
Stir for about 30-45min until there is a trace and it thickens
Pour into the wooden mold
Cover mold with a lid, place on cardboard to catch the drips, and keep warm with a blanket or towel over night.

POST BY: JESSI PERREN

FROM TREE TO THE DESSERT PLATE: CACAO PROCESSING WITH NARCISSO

2010-05-25T17:00:00.001-07:00

Continuing on the topic of local traditional food…

Natasha, Natasha’s friend Alan, and I spent a morning with Narcisso and his daughter Marialy learning how to make chocolate…Yum!

Materials Needed (vary according to person/family/location/tradition):

2 pounds of dry cacao seeds
¾ pounds of brown sugar
1 metal or wooden stirring spoon
1 pan or pot to roast and/or later boil cacao in
1 oven or fire to roast and/or boil in or over
1 pan or mold to put liquefied cacao in to form your solid chocolate
Milk (to taste), if you want the chocolate drink, or solid milk-chocolate

The steps go something like this:

Dry the cacao seeds for one month. (luckily this step was completed before we showed up)
Pull apart any seeds that are stuck together to ensure that the beans can roast evenly.
Roast the seeds in a pan. (We roasted the seeds in Narcisso’s outdoor kitchen over an open flame using fire wood from the bush, a cast-iron pot, and a spoon to stir the seeds with.)
After the seeds are roasted, shell the seeds by lightly squeezing them between your fingers or rolling them with the palm of your hand on the surf ace of a table. Try to avoid crumbling the seed. Its best if possible to keep the seed whole to make it easier to separate the shell, but not hopeless if it is crumbled. (This can be a laborious step. Get your family members or friends to help you shell the beans. We thought listening to music and conversation made this step go by much more quickly)
Grind the cacao seeds (We used a hand-cranked metal grinder that clamps onto the table, and set a pan underneath to catch the ground cacao.)
Periodically check to see if the cacao is heating up by placing your fingers on the grinder to feel the temperature. If it is warm. Discontinue grinding until the grinder has cooled off. Due to the oil in the cacao seed, the friction of grinding will cause the cacao to melt. Add brown sugar to the seeds as you grind. The sugar will help keep the cacao from heating up too much.
(Before continuing to step 8, we decided to turn some of the ground cacao and sugar mix into a hot chocolate milk drink. Narcisso’s oldest daughters made this drink for everyone. We drank this while continuing the rest of the steps to make solid chocolate.)
Pour the ground mix of sugar and cacao into a pot of water and milk over the fire. Fervently stir this mixture until it boils and the majority of water evaporates. Check the consistency by occasionally lifting the chocolate up with the spoon and watching it drop off the spoon back into the pot.
When it becomes similar to the consistency of icing or mashed potatoes, then pour and scrape the chocolate into the mold. Let the chocolate sit until it solidifies.
Enjoy the chocolate with your friends, family, and fellow-chocolate makers.

Side Notes:

One of the things I’ve enjoyed learning on this project so far, is how to use a machete. While making cacao, I watched Narcisso prepare the wood for the fire we would be using to cook with. He brought in dry wormwood (Jabin in Maya) from the bush. The wood lit easily. We directly lit the wood with a match instead of using another material to light first underneath the wood. The pieces he brought were approximately 2½ to 3 inches in diameter. He chopped these pieces across the grain with a machete into approximately 1 foot sections. Then he split each section down the end grain into half with the machete. Then he split each smaller section

into smaller and smaller sections creating a sort of kindle that he stacked into a tepee.

Because we also enjoyed a nice rice lunch prepared by Narcisso’s oldest daughters after making chocolate in the morning, Narcisso taught us how to chop a dry coconut using a machete so we could grind the dry coconut meat to cook the rice with. We basically chopped different sections of the coconut husk and used the machete like a wedge to pry sections of the coconut off until we could get to the core. Then we used a hand-held cheese grinder to grind the coconut meat.

POST BY: JESSI PERREN

A LIFETIME OF KNOWLEDGE IN NARCISSO'S GARDEN!

2010-05-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Jessi, my friend Alan, and I worked on Narcisso’s farm all day. It was a perfect day, not to hot with a slight cool breeze! We were all very enthusiastic to get to work. Narcisso’s polyculture farm is magical -- fresh, green, and thriving! Our first task was to take seeds out of dried jicama pods. With the help of Narcisso’s daughter Marrialy, we cracked open the pods with rocks. It was long and tedious, but rewarding when we had a heaping pile of shiny brown seeds! While we were doing this, Alan and Narcisso went around the farm and uprooted makal or “coco.”After these jobs we took a long coconut break in the shade. Narcisso taught us how to cut down coconuts and crack them open with the machete. I was not very good at it, but Jessi has the special touch because she could crack one open with just one swing! After this heavenly break we blazed rows using machetes and shovels so Narcisso could later plant the makal. Narcisso says he has to wait for the full moon to plant so that the plants will thrive. I have heard of Lunar planting before but this was my first account of meeting someone who actually uses this method. For example, Narcisso says that if you plant watermelon on a full moon it will be round, and if you plant it three days after a full moon it will be round and large. When we finished creating the rows, I went with Marrialy to pick mangoes while the others cleared the weeds around the maize.

It was a fun filled day of learning and working. I was wide eyed by the time we left; everyday knowledge to Narcisso was exciting and interesting wisdom to me! For instance, when a spider covers its hole in the ground with a web it means it is going to rain that night!

I cannot wait to go back and work some more!

FOOD FOOD FOOD!!

2010-05-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

This field season is turning into a feasting frenzy of delectable baked goods and thirst quenching beverages! Reading through my field notes I have noticed that all of my entries have to do with eating and recipes, even in the field I write about the coconut breaks and mango snacks!

At the base it is a constant cooking show! Timarry has been teaching me her cooking skills and recipes. She has taught me how to make fresh corn tortillas, showing me how to puff the tortillas up so you know they are ready, while Narcisso chimes in on making the tortillas round using hand shaping techniques. There is nothing better then a fresh hot off the stove tortilla! From corn tortillas to Johnny cake making, Timarry has been an amazing teacher.

Our beverages come straight from the BRASS base backyard. I have named Anabel the Juice Queen because she has perfected this drink making art, from fruit juices to fresh ice teas! My favorites have been the allspice ice tea and lemon grass ice tea!! I follow Anabel around the kitchen when beverage concocting initiates so I can figure out how she makes them so tasty! But alas, I think I need more practice! It is ignorant of me to assume that these seemingly simple leaves that hang in the backyard could have few uses, let alone any nutritional and thirst satisfying ones! But indeed these are amazing plants right from our very own house! Just one example of many of how efficient and excellent forest gardens can be! I just recently tried Chaya juice, it was not only delicious but gave me a boost of energy. So i now am on a path to create the perfect Chaya drink. I will keep you updated on my progress..

So far I have been having a delicious time down here! Next on the agenda is making fresh chocolate from Narcissos cacao! Looking forward to these food adventures!

Natasha

A START TO A BUSY AND EXCITING FIELD SEASON!

2010-05-20T16:37:00.001-07:00

I walked into BRASS base after a long overnight bus ride from Antigua, Guatemala. Tired and hot I was excited to arrive and just retreat into my room and fall into a deep slumber. However, when I arrived I walked into an interesting conversation between Narcisso Torres (a friend and forest gardener; member of the Maya Forest Garden Network) and Timarry (BRASS bases’ amazing cook and housekeeper), “Allspice vine will help you, it will lower your blood sugar.” When they saw me, we quickly exchanged brief introductions, but shortly after I delved into Narcissos brain for more knowledge. “So tell me what else Allspice can do?!” – I was just thrilled to know more. Narcisso and I ended up talking for a few hours as he went over plants and their uses, such as Gumbolimbo and its soothing qualities.

After a short while in deep conversation with Narcisso, Anabel arrived with a fabulous student volunteer from Little Rock Arkansa, Jessi Perren. With our small team united, it was not long before we dove straight into work. This season we have many projects we want to focus on and get moving. One of our biggest projects is to develop and map the Sta. Familia Elementary School forest garden called Känan K’aax (Mayan for well cared for forest). We will plot out the gardens layout and identify the plant inhabitants and their uses. Our aim is to make the garden engaging and exciting for the children and an attraction for outside visitors. Another big project that we will be working on is creating a tourist plan for the El Pilar site. The team hopes to find some enthusiastic tour guides that we can work with to help promote El Pilar and Archaeology Under the Canopy while promoting the wonders of forest gardening.

Along with these projects, I look forward to all the good friends I will make and fun times that will be had! To learn about forest gardening from the experts and get my hands dirty! More updates and stories to come!

Natasha

ESP~MAYA at EARTH DAY FESTIVAL 2010 Santa Barbara

2010-04-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, April 17th and 18th, ESP~Maya tabled at the 40th Earth Day Festival in Santa Barbara. There was a huge community turn out this year! Visitors enjoyed music, food, and fun workshops, which included yoga, art, sustainable living and much more. Most importantly the park was packed with hundreds of environmental organizations reaching out and educating the public on an array of environmental issues. ESP~Maya was a popular table at the event, located in the Harvest to Home area. Our team was busy handing out Chaya cuttings, Teeccino samples, and information about El Pilar and the ESP projects. Our team consisted of Cody Leeds, our amazing permaculture expert and volunteer, Larry Saltzman, Permaculture Guild representative as well as master food forest gardener, Coco Barret Tormey, who came from Santa Cruz to help us out, and myself! Most of our visitors were fascinated by the plants of the Maya forest, especially the Chaya and Ramon nuts we had featured at our table. Many of the people who visited were excited about our projects and wanted to come volunteer! All in all Earth Day was a huge success for ESP~Maya! If you did not have a chance to visit this year, definitely check it out next year and come by and say hello to ESP~Maya!

The North American Association of Environmental Educators

2010-02-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

Anabel's Third Update from the Field:

The North American Association of Environmental Educators, linked with Michael Marzolla, was destined to visit El Pilar. As part of the arrangements, I was to give a presentation. This required a trip to DuPlooys where they were staying. As these travels are arduous and going back to BRASS Base and then meeting them again would double logistics, I chose to go out to DuPlooy’s and stay the night. This worked out well.

I had a small handout to print as well as views of the temples based on Henri’s model. I also hoped to show a power point slide show, but did not know if there would be a PC laptop for me to use. It all worked out in the end but it was not easy. As with everything in Belize, the simple way seems impossible. My flash drive did not work on the computers of DuPlooy’s but they did have wireless and I was able to send my documents to the receptionist Linda Luna to print from her computer. She had her laptop and miraculously, the flash drive worked on that and I could transfer my large slide show to her laptop. All this took up all my relax time and finally I got to the room and could wash up but not rest.

No time to go to the porch-bar but directly to the dinning room where all were assembling for dinner. We got to know some of the group around us. Greeted Michael who had been at BRASS Base the night before the group tour started, and enjoyed a good meal. Time running on, it was after 8:30 when we got to the presentation... remarkably all connected and got to work after a fashion. The frame was off so I could not use the slide mode to show the pictures… still the story unfolded and they were clear about the Maya forest garden. They would see the site and the gardens the next day.

A very cool night followed by a cool day. The visit to El Pilar was lovely. There were some 25 people and everything took time, but we made it to the site by 10:30 with Andres and his team already there with the lunch and the forest gardeners. We introduced them and then we went to Tzunuun the Maya house and forest garden. People had time to talk with the forest gardeners, we had Alfonso Tzul, Jorge Rivera, Narciso Torres, Raymundo Quewell, and Carmen Cruz. We also talked about the use of rooms and structures, the outside space and plaza, and the intensive infield gardens that would have surrounded the complex.

From there we walked to Copal, Duende and the chert site before lunch at the Duende picnic area. Beatrice had made our tamales – some beans, chaya, and chicken. We also had her great salsa and her Rosa de Jamaica drink. With large leaves as plates we ate the whole lot, and perhaps there was not as much as was needed but all seemed satisfied. The break refreshed and we walked to the north to see the corbelled arch of Zotz Na and the complex of Jobo. We culminated the visit to the north with the lookout where the expanse of the Maya forest can be enjoyed. From there, running ever late, we went past Lec and on to the back of the site and the aguada and finally returning through Duende and Copal to Axcanan the last group to see. We still had the school garden to see and the group logistician was saying that 4 pm was the end time… not possible…

We finally got to the school plot and Narciso welcomed the group in Mayan. While many were tired all enjoyed the stop and saw the great potential of this garden, the instructional possibilities, the landscape beauty, and the group commitment. It was after 4:40 when they took off back to their night in Chaa Creek. The enthusiasm of the visitors signaled a great link…

The Joy of Zacarias and the Disappointment of Tikal

2010-02-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

Anabel's Second Update From the Field!

The Petén was remarkably cool on my visit and the regular steamy heat was not in evidence. This made our visit refreshing. On Monday the 8th I was able to make

a visit to Zacarias Quixchan in San Andres and get up to his finca to see his second year milpa in full form filled with every kind of plant from the small chili habanero to the blooming banana and papaya. He showed us his tomatoes, macal, chaya, chipilin, epasote, camote, cebollin, beans, maize interlaced with his fruit trees including mango, citrus, allspice, avocado, mamey, chico, ceiba and hardwoods. I saw pineapple, lemon grass, and several kinds of squash. I am sure I have missed many others but you get the idea. He is a master of organic polycultural gardening and the example of the efficacy of the milpa cycle… As we were ready to leave, Zacarias demonstrated his new Jaguar caller, telling us how difficult it is to make these now.

Tuesday I went to Tikal, I was accompanied by my French friends who were in the Petén for the first time. We left early and had breakfast at Jaguar Inn. I took a moment to introduce myself to the new administrator, Elmer Tun the son of Tono which whom I contract for transportation. My main interest was to find out what would be needed to clean the Brecha Anabela. Elmer got Cesar Acuña to help with a budget, and they will help with the project. After my meeting I took Sabine, Sylvie, Cathy, Raphaele, and Nathalie on my quick good-bad-ugly tour. Little did I know that things were changing more… it is the ugly that is rearing its head. Tikal was my disappointment. I know the Teotihuacan temple is turning to dust, that the mask of the North Acropolis has disappeared, and that Temple IV is a complete fabrication, but how could there be more?

Seven Temples represents the continuation of the Secunda Conquista Española, a complete renovation after some architect’s idea of what should be there. Mundo Perdido still shines as an example where landscaping had triumphed, trees ram vistas of temple exposures, consolidations did not go beyond the evidence, and tasteful use of hard-scape of the architecture with soft-scape of the plants gives the area a coolness that comes with the plants.

Juan Pedro La Porte was the mastermind of this area and he brought his style to the place. Felipe Lanza was the botanical support, and his love of the forest garden is everywhere evident the boundless pacaya, the pods of trees, and the shade on the monuments, all make the areas attractive and pleasant. Juan Pedro sadly just died and Guatemala lost a perceptive scholar whose influence is part of his legacy with his students.

One of his students, Juan Antonio Valdez, most known for his wonderful work at Uaxactun also conducted work within the Mundo Perdido project. He consolidated a beautiful small temple south of the main complex in the early 80s and it was my wonder and representation of the really good

examples of archaeology under the canopy. I have used it as it has been nearly three decades and it shows little change, looming as a pleasant surprise on the back trail that connects to Group G. But that wonderful little shrine has been damaged and in the end it will forever make it a tragedy. It had been so beautiful and safe for more than 25 years. Carefully exposed and consolidated with a ramon tree at one side, collapse still embracing the sides and back, and without any maintenance. It was a dream and a showpiece. So gratuitous to cut that tree when it was so apparent that it was doing no harm and in fact was the very reason for its beauty over all the years. Now the exposure in this wet period is wracking havoc. The moss is drying and the sun is piercing. Once a jewel, now what? I am sad... There is little good now to show people at Tikal... The impact of the exposures and the reconstruction is overwhelming. No imagination. We will see how the changes are wrought when we next visit in April.

Guatemala, La Ciudad ~ Feb 4-5

2010-02-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

Anabel is down in the field, here is her first account:

Meetings were the top priority. In the city, Jose Antonio Montes, an international and environmental attorney who works with the El Pilar project, went with me to zona 1 and the offices of the Director of Patrimonio Cultural Juan Carlos Perez and his second the Director of the Instituto de Antropologia e Historia Alexander Urizar. The topic was how to move El Pilar forward. It was a very positive meeting, and they described a plan to develop a project at El Pilar in Guatemala, and this is an important balance to the work in Belize.

The next day I met with Nini Berger. She is an avid and influential conservationist in Guatemala that I met through Conservation International ten years ago. Her passion is parrots and her work is focused in the Petén. Sometime ago, she and her family came to visit El Pilar. It was great fun. This visit, she was subdued, concerned for the conservation programs of Guatemala and hoping for improvements. Nini has a vast knowledge of Guatemala and its political canvas.

My city stay included more meetings: Alfonso Ortiz a cultural properties attorney with networks with UNESCO and ICOMOS, Bobby Labbe, a orthodontist who has a passion for archaeology, and Laurel Jacobson owner of the wonderful Panza Verde in Antigua. It was an intense 3 days and Saturday I took the plane to the Peten.

Jose Antonio Montes

Reaching Out to UCSB Students

2010-02-11T13:22:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday, January 26^th Anabel gave a short talk to the UCSB Associated Students Environmental Affairs Board (EAB). EAB is a student group dedicated to the protection, preservation and enhancement of the environment at UCSB and its surrounding communities. They put their passionate energy and focus into areas such as ecology, climate change, energy, the economy, and environmental justice, to make a difference not only locally, but also nationally and globally. MARC and ESP~ Maya are enthusiastic about working with EAB and look forward to building a strong relationship with these students. By increasing our student network we can gain fresh perspective, input, and support.

After the talk, Anabel received many emails of students who wanted to get involved with the project! Anabel and I were delighted at how many students are involved with EAB and also at the students’ encouragement and excitement of the El Pilar Project!

El Pilar at the Santa Barbara Community Seed Swap

2010-01-28T16:08:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday, January 23rd, Anabel and I headed down to Alameda Park to represent ESP~Maya and El Pilar at Santa Barbara Community Seed Swap. We had a great time educating the community about the project and handing out Chaya (Tree Spinach) cuttings, while dancing around to the folk music and checking out all the other wonderful tables. It was a beautiful sunny day after a long period of rain and it was nice to see everyone emerge from their shelters and support organic

farming and the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network! We made some great friends, young and old, who are very interested in El Pilar and the Forest Gardeners, and we thank you all for the support and donations! One friend in particular, Cody Leeds, excited us with the progress of his Chaya plant. Cody received a Chaya cutting from ESP~Maya at last year’s Seed Swap, and already it has grown three feet and produces leaves which he has been eating! We were all thrilled to hear about hi success. In support of our friend and forest gardener, Beatrice Waight, ESP~Maya raised funds for her work by selling medicinal Copal incense, a popular item at the Swap. Overall Saturday was a great success and we are grateful for all the encouragement and support from our community!

Check out this video of footage from the Seed Swap which includes the interview with Cody:

Special thanks to our good friend Daniel Parra for filming this fun day!

The fall winds have blown more than just leaves our way!

2009-12-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

The start of a new school year has brought some new faces and fresh ideas into the MesoAmerican Research Center. Our new team has been diligently working away cleaning up the lab and getting familiar with the projects. We are working together to keep MARC and all the core programs alive and up to date. To start, our master web designer Massis is giving the MARC website a facelift and transforming the site into a more user-friendly version. Our website will become more accessible, encouraging outside support and interest. Also in the lab we have three other work-study students, Angie, Justin and Gustavo. Justin and Gustavo are helping to organize and update our equipment and files, while Angie has taken on a large project of cleaning up and editing important graphics. Thanks to them, material and information has become much more accessible and organized, just in time for the massive amount of work to do before the end of the year.

Jonathan has been working on his dissertation for SMU, with the help of student volunteers they have been classifying pottery sherds and updating the classifications of ceramic shapes.

Anabel has been busy writing numerous articles, giving many lectures, and even traveling in between -- she is currently involved at a symposium in Campeche, Mexico! Along with that work, her dedication to El Pilar and the Forest Gardeners never cease. We have been enhancing continuing projects but also establishing some new and exciting ventures. New business and tourist plans are in the works as we continue to expand our approach to funding the projects. With more tourist generated income, both the El Pilar Site and the Forest Gardeners themselves will benefit, gaining a more reliable and sustainable livelihood. On a more global scale, widespread exposure through tourism, to the alternative conservation methods at El Pilar, will aid in expanding a more healthy approach to forest gardening and preservation. Another new endeavor brewing is the creation of an El Pilar Student Think Tank. The MARC team hopes to engage more student involvement and awareness, also to gain fresh perspectives and innovative ideas from students who want to be involved in the preservation of the environment and local knowledge. With all of this excitement and progression, MARC is alive and hard at work! We will keep you updated on our progress. Until next time!

Goodbyes As the 2009 Season Came to an End

2009-08-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

By Chrissie Bausch

At our max, our 2009 field team was nine people! As the season came to a close, however, our team numbers slowly dwindled. First, Sebeto returned to California and then France to finish his masters dissertation, which he scored very well on! We are very proud. Next Carissa journeyed via bus back to Merida, Yucatan. Then Angela returned to Illinois. Finally, we were down to Anabel, Anne, Deanna, Marc, Nick, and myself. We spent our last full day in Belize wrapping up projects, packing, and saying goodbye to our friends in Santa Familia and Bullet Tree.

Early Monday, July 6th we left Santa Elena for the airport accompanied by Andres, Narciso and Israel, our Belizean friends and colleagues. After saying our final goodbyes to them, our numbers dwindled further as the day went on. Anabel, Anne and Marc had their flights in the morning, with Deanna, Nick and me remaining. With lots of time on our hands, I worked on packing and re-packing my luggage so that each piece would be under the 50 pound weight limit. Deanna picked up some last minute gifts to finish off the rest of her Belize dollars before returning home. Nick dutifully guarded our suitcases. Deanna was the next to take off for California, but not before ensuring that Nick and I had enough junk food and some silly sunglasses to last us our flight! After having been at the airport for five hours already, Nick and I decided to take a nap until it was time to board our plane home.

We got lucky: the in-flight movie was Monsters vs. Aliens, a film highly recommended by some of our Belizean friends! Granted, the recommenders were five and three years old. We landed in Dallas, Texas very hungry. Nick, who was my legal ward for the trip, and I made it through customs and immigration with no problems. We enjoyed a final meal together and parted ways, but only after discovering a very cool sculpture that plays music via sensors as you walk through it! I made it to my gate just in time to board my plane for California. One of the first things I did at home was make the classic Belizean meal of stew chicken, rice and beans, and fresh flour tortillas for my family in the spirit of Orfalina.

On Soapmaking in the Maya Forest: Trace is not all it is said to be.

2009-06-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

by Anabel Ford

For many years I have wanted to make soap from purely Mesoamerican ingredients. On several occasions in the past I have acquired the main ingredient, Corozo or Cohune oil, a native palm abundant at El Pilar and a subsidy from nature. I never implemented the experiment, however, because I had the lofty goal of using only oils and additives that are native to the Maya forest. Thus, we are limited to items like avocado oil and cocoa butter, both of which make great soap, but are expensive and hard to find in Belize. Another option was maize oil, which is abundant. However, there were no examples of soaps made with maize oil. The standard oils used are palm and olive. How to begin?

While I had had the idea floating around in my head for years, what I needed was someone to help me research the process. This season, Carissa materialized as that person. Luckily today there is a lot of information available on the Internet. Still, as it is essentially an unknown, she struggled with forming a recipe with Maize oil.

For soap you need to have lather, hardness, and the conditioning quality that, for example, olive oil provides. Carissa’s research was thorough. She gathered data from books, the web, and youtube tutorials on the process. Our most important tool was a fantastic site that calculates the proportions of lye for given oils, soapcalc.net. Though it suggested we would not have a conditioning soap with just a palm oil and maize oil, I was insistent we try. I wanted a Maya forest soap, not just any soap. So we began the experiment.

The first step was to assemble the equipment and secure the lye. We priced out the list of equipment in our local town of Cayo, but ultimately went to the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout where we were able to find all the equipment we needed. We had wood box molds prepared by a local cabinetmaker. We were on our way.

Our first experiment was cautious and careful. Lye is very caustic, so we proceeded with goggles and gloves. The measurements for soap are given in weight, so we measured with our artifact balance. Not surprisingly, it was hot hot HOT the afternoon we initiated the process. The goggles were awful. In later experiments we used them only when working with the lye.

The way you combine the ingredients is important. When water is added to the lye, it heats up to more than 200 degrees, but must cool to 100 degrees before combining with the oils. We combined the oils and put them to heat in the tropical sun so that the lye and oils would be the same temperature, 100 degrees. Once they achieved this temperature, we added the lye water to the oil and stirred evenly to begin the chemical reaction that makes the soap.

All our soap making instructions said the soap should achieve a trace and have the consistency of pudding. However, in our first experiment there was no trace, even after 2.5 hours of stirring. We were concerned that our soap would not set, but we put the mixture in the molds to see what would happen. If it did not work, so be it. We poured the thick mix into the mold, covered it to isolate the concoction and put a blanket around it to keep it warm. We would wait and see.

Later in the evening we noted that the mold was very hot, the expected reaction as it forms for the first 24-48 hours. We gave it several days and then tried to remove it. It was not easy, so we cooled it further in the freezer, which worked. Out of the mold, it was white, solid and looked like soap! Would it be too harsh? Would it form suds? These answers would have to wait: right out of the mold soap is still harsh, so it must cure for about 4 weeks. We cut it with a machete and stored it in a closet until it was ready.

In the intervening time we made three more batches, each with something new: Achiote for color, allspice for texture, and flowers for appearance. We did not stir the lye-oil mixture as long in these experiments, ultimately mixing for under an hour. All the soaps were poured as a thick liquid. All shed oil, hardened very well and, when cut, were very nice. We hoped for the best.

For one experiment, on the internet I ordered cocoa butter, avocado oil, and allspice oil as additives and picked them up on a visit to the US. These are native oils but unavailable from Cayo, Belize. We had hoped that the addition of the different oils would give us a better trace, but even using a more eclectic combination of oils, the liquid texture remained. Still, the soap hardened in the molds. Certainly the cocoa butter would yield a more conditioning soap.

While the soap batches were curing in the closet, looking like wonderful soap, I talked with Lydie and Ed Allen who make the wonderful Rubba Dub soap here in Cayo with a base of Corozo. That was what got me excited about making American soap years ago. Lydie was very helpful in discussing the process. Ed told us that trace is overrated: their mix is much like ours! We felt encouraged. Further, Lydie told us that because of the heat in Belize, the curing process for their soap is only two weeks rather than four.

With this news, and the fact that we had 3 weeks on the first soap, we tried it… and it was wonderful! It was hard, sudsy and conditioning. We were successful! With some experience behind us, we have a wonderful Maya soap product from Belize. Now we may only be a cottage industry at BRASS Base, but who knows! We will keep up our experiments…

Wattle and Daub at Tzunu'un

2009-06-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

by Angela Cooper

Here in Belize, adventure is around every corner. Simple mundane activities bring joy and excitement that I would normally pass up for watching television and sitting at my computer. Cooking meals and working on a milpa bring so much fulfillment that it’s hard not to enjoy and love Belize and its people. My time here is coming to an end, and it breaks my heart to leave. I have gained so much knowledge that I will bring back home with me, and I have experienced so much here which I hope will bring enjoyment to my friends and family when I tell them stories. One of the stories I will tell is about constructing the Tzunu'un champa walls.
At El Pilar, the monuments and temples are left covered, but at Tzunu’un, an elite residence is exposed and reconstructed. There are two model Maya houses with thatch roofing; however, they do not have any walls. Last week, workers and BRASS volunteers went to El Pilar to mix and apply daub to the walls of the champas. The workers mixed grass, limestone, mud, clay and water to create the daub. It is taupe, smelly, and deliciously messy. Narciso tried to prevent me from applying the daub to the walls because the lime and grass create a rough, painful texture. I do have soft hands, but I did not want that to hinder me from getting ridiculously dirty and happy after staying cooped up for a day with an upset stomach.
After the first batch of daub was mixed, some of the workers, Nick, and I began to apply the daub to the walls. Narciso first threw the daub onto the walls, but most just flew through the cracks of the wall. One of the workers stated that two people needed to apply the daub on the outside and inside wall at the same time. Nick applied the daub on the outer wall while I applied the daub on the inside wall. Quite often the daub would just fall off, and we would scoop it back up onto the wall. After working together for a while, another worker told us we were applying the daub wrong and that the mixture wasn’t right. The workers began discussing the proper way to mix and apply the daub. Finally, we were told that in order to apply the daub correctly, we needed to start from the bottom and work our way up and only do the inside wall.
Before applying the daub in this fashion, we took our lunch break and everyone sat around the reconstructed buildings. We had just barely taken a bite, when the rain began pouring down. Everyone rushed back under the champas and watched the rain fall. After resting for a bit after lunch, we continued applying the daub on the walls.
When we finished for the day, the inside walls were finished and began to dry. Our hands dried out as well, and it was difficult to extend our fingers. Nick and I joked that our hands would turn to stone, and we could create a wall with our hands. The day was very fulfilling and fun, and the walls looked gorgeous.