CIE TAA' PI'T ONG
Comunidad intercultural Educativa
Equilibrio Sagrado en Nuestro Paraíso
Our Ancestral Agriculture program cares for the health of Mother Lake Atitlán and Mother Earth. Honoring Mayan practices of sustainable stewardship, the program's three components—Educational Garden, Seed Nursery, and Bio-Fertilizer factory—transmit knowledge on how to care for the soil, seeds, water, and the health of all who depend on them for their livelihood. They are the legacy we received from our ancestors, and the legacy we leave to future generations.
EDUCATIONAL garden
We have a garden covering approximately 1400 square meters, featuring five cultivation areas: milpa (traditional corn planting systems), vegetables, bananas, limes, and medicinal plants. The garden is primarily based on ancestral agriculture practices, complimented by other techniques. Through this initiative, our students, mothers, teachers, and the community learn and work using a Mayan worldview, employing methods such as furrows, terraces, double-digging, and raised beds.
To enhance children's understanding, some terraces have been designed in the shape of lunar phases, a snail, extinct native fish species, as well as the Mayan Cross-- aligned with cardinal directions, the Sun's movement, the winds, the four elements, and the Mayan calendar.
Complimenting this knowledge and practice, a sacred balance is fostered among the individual, nature, and the universe.
seed NURSERY
To reinforce Maya ecological education and sacred balance, we maintain a nursery where we foster the germination of native and heirloom seeds, including vegetables, basic grains, and medicinal plants, as well as the rooting of cuttings.
The seedbed is located inside a greenhouse with a bamboo structure, a polycarbonate roof, and a didactic design that facilitates the students' performance.
The use of bamboo trays and other recycled materials to prevent and reduce the use of plastic is currently being experimented with.
BIO-Fertilizer factory
We have a biofactory where we produce organic fertilizers and agricultural bio-inputs. It is designed to facilitate the learning and performance of children. It has an educational, ecological, community and cultural function. The three components described above together provide knowledge and skills to be replicated in organic family gardens. If these are achieved, the awareness of the sacred balance in our paradise: the Lake Atitlán basin will be extended.
