El Pilar Forest Gardens Network

Our informal network is focused on lowland Mesoamerica from Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. The core group in Belize collaborates and shares their knowledge, skills, and seeds through community projects, a model primary school garden called Känan K’aax, and in their own forest gardens. The team envisions cultivating school gardens throughout the Maya forest.

Our Goals

Education

Education

Show the importance of learning in gardens through interactive learning and community knowledge sharing

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Outreach

Promoting gardening through media, presentations, and exhibits

Model Garden

Model Garden

Teaching about the Maya forest garden through hands-on experiences at the Känan K’aax school garden in Cayo, Belize

Sustainability
Sustainability

Building soil fertility and reducing erosion by reincorporating organic material into the soil

Conservation
Conservation

Promoting biodiversity and building forest resilience with the propagation of food forests

Climate Change
Climate Change

Creating food sovereignty by growing your own food

Our Proud Efforts

School Garden & Garden Tours

We created an active forest garden at the primary school to re-introduce forest gardening to children. We offer public forest garden tours to show the creative approaches to forest gardening.

Education Outreach

A group of environmentalists from Sacred Heart Junior College helped bridge the generation gap between older Maya farmers and a new generation of potential forest gardeners.

El Pilar Archeological Reserve

Maintaining a forest garden at the ancient Maya site of El Pilar to contribute to the living environment and educate visitors on Maya life-ways

Our Team

Local Members

On-site in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, we are involved in educational venues at schools, displays and festivals, and lectures and programs.

Regional Members

Regionally, we participate in conferences and promotions on conservation and development.

International Members

Internationally, we use our website to promote Maya forest gardening and look to expand our network

We could not do it without

Paul Bailly

Paul Bailly

Deceased

Anselmo Casteneda

Anselmo Casteneda

Deceased

Elias Awe

Elias Awe

Deceased

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Your Support Grows the Earth

Stand up for the conservation of the Maya forest gardening tradition. Your support will help this valuable knowledge survive for centuries to come, while helping us cultivate solutions for our global environmental crisis.

Maya Forest Gardeners is a project of Exploring Solutions Past, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all donations are fully tax-deductible.