[Sdpg] Celebrating the Maya Forest as a Garden Saturday, October 13, 2007 from 11 am to 4 pm, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Farrand Hall

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Celebrating the Maya Forest as a Garden
Meet the Mayan Forest Gardeners from El Pilar!
Presented by ESP-Maya, a 501c3 non-profit organization, with SBMNH
At the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Farrand Hall
Saturday, October 13, 2007 from 11 am to 4 pm

The Original PermaCulturists

The Maya have long been exalted for their 
architectural and artistic grandeur. Towering 
temples dominating grand open plazas remain the 
enduring evidence of their power.  Keen observers 
of natural phenomena, their priests studied the 
heavens, making accurate celestial predictions 
with precise mathematics. The Maya were also 
superb gardeners. They domesticated their wild 
jungles and tropical landscape and established 
their cities based on forest gardens.
This powerfully effective art, architecture, and 
agriculture was, amazingly, established without 
the aid of wheels and plows or the draft animals, 
or even heavy metals like iron. Rather than being 
constrained by this, the Maya were able to create 
a productive landscape that provided thousands of 
years of growth and development. This is 
supremely evident in the remarkably diverse and 
sophisticated development of their landscape. 
Well-known plants that we rely on today were part 
of the Maya diet: the sun trilogy of maize, 
beans, squash; basic vegetables such as tomato 
and chile; fibers such as cotton; condiments like 
allspice tree and achiote bush; and the important 
shaded delicacies of chocolate and vanilla.
Tailored to the local geography, the Maya 
cultivated the forest as a garden for thousands 
of years. Today the Maya forest is dominated by 
these useful plants, nurtured by traditional 
farmers of the region who grow a wide array of 
food, medicine, and spice as well as materials 
for construction and home utensils.   Their 
forest gardens provide nourishment for their 
families, maintain the soil fertility, secure water, and clean the air.

Come and meet them!
Join Us and Discover the World of the Maya  Past and Present
• Where did the ancient Maya live?  • What are we 
doing to protect the Maya heritage?
• How can we learn from the Maya Forest Garden?
These are some of the fascinating question we 
will cover in our panel discussion
At Fiesta El Pilar.
·       Beloved local landscape designer Lori Ann 
David will moderate a celebration of the tropical Maya forest past and present
·       Archaeologist Anabel Ford will introduce the Maya world
·       A panel of local and international 
experts will explore traditional landscapes.
·       Maya forest gardeners from El Pilar 
Belize  Master Gardener Alfonzo Tzul, Traditional 
Healer Beatrice Waight, and Young Entrepreneur 
Lucas Medina will discuss how they conserve and prosper in the Maya forest
·       Learn about Chumash landscapes 
traditional Chumash Healer Adelina Padilla
·       Explore how traditional knowledge can 
contribute to our own lives and landscapes.

Music by El Son del Pueblo • Food and Drinks • Booths
Suggested contribution: $25-$100
Contact info:  Anabel Ford 805 893 8191/ford at marc.ucsb.edu


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