Defending the territory and food sovereignty of Maya people in Yucatan, Mexico

This initiative will be carried out in three communities of the Chenes region, where a participatory space will be promoted—in assemblies and dedicated workshops— to identify the elements of strength of the local indigenous food systems. The survival of the Mayan people is rooted in traditional farming techniques, in the biodiversity of local seeds, in the self-governance of communities and the engagement of young people. These same elements allow facing large external and internal threats, such as those coming from the expansion of agro-industry or the presence of climate change.
The communities will design strategies for the improvement of their own food systems and for the strengthening of their governance, to be based on specific plans. It is expected that these plans will aim at local food sovereignty and include traditional production techniques, the recovery and care of local seeds, various forms of integration of young people and cultural methods for the conservation of the territory.
A second level of work will be among three communities in the region. Meetings will be held to strengthen their mutual solidarity, share reflections and develop agreements. These meetings will support the sharing of internal decision-making processes as well as difficulties or elements of strengths that each community has encountered in the process of creating the food system governance plan. Agreements will be developed to face, modify or solve problems.
The third area of ​​work will be the space that involves three states of the Yucatan Peninsula— Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan— where a meeting will be held to strengthen the common vision of the Mayan people. Once again, problems will be shared and the reality and strength of indigenous governance of the food system will be examined towards the construction of “Good Living”. The entire initiative will be facilitated by the organization Ka ‘Kuxtal Much’ Meyaj A.C., a civil association entirely composed of indigenous Maya persons from the Chenes region, in Hopelchén, Campeche, Mexico.