What is El Pilar?
El Pilar is a Living Museum and Laboratory drawing from Ancient Cultural Practices to create a Conservation Model for the Future of Civilization.
In a region where a civilization once flourished our recent expansion threatens environmental integrity. Local cultural traditions speak to an intimate knowledge of the forest while the ecology of the forest speaks to a systematic cultivation by humans. The last native Maya reveal keen awareness of ecological complexities involving animal, plants, and people, clearly favoring forest growth. The Maya sustainable practices that demonstrate the mutual benefits of culture and nature are unknown to the world. Collaborative research on the culture and nature of the Maya forest promises to open new paths to knowledge and understanding that will create a conservation model for the future of our civilization.
For many centuries, dense forest has been the guardian of the ancient Maya city at El Pilar, on what is now the border of Belize and Guatemala. Imagine. Being able to step back in time and experience life in the jungle as the ancient Maya did. Enter their homes. Stroll their gardens. Encounter the native wildlife. This is the promise of El Pilar – where archeologist Anabel Ford is restoring not just another stone monument, but an entire living environment. An environment that will create a new kind of eco-tourism –– based on the traditional and sustainable practice of forest gardening.
Project News
Fiesta El Pilar 2007 a Success!
Thanks to everyone who attended Fiesta El Pilar 2007 on October 13th! We had a great turnout for the event and the positive feedback has been overwhelming!
Read the full article
In den „Wald-Gärten“ der Maya ~ (In the Maya Forest Garden)
On the April 2007 Damals Magazine, an article was published featuring Dr. Anabel Ford's investigations on the Mayan forest-changing gardens. The original document was written in German and it has been translated by google.
Read the full article in English
Photos of Dr. Anabel Ford's Presentation on Maya Forest Agriculture
Held at Farrand Hall of Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Thursday March 8, 2007
El Chichón Volcano: Twenty-FIVE years later
The main purpose of this international conference, to be held in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas (March 20-25, 2007), is to commemorate the event with the aim of reassessing our knowledge of the eruption and also to review the status of our science, particularly with respect to explosive eruptions, their characteristics, impacts and consequences. The conference is organized by UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas (UNICACH).
Conference Schedule
The Maya Forest Coloring Book
“The Maya Forest Garden & El Pilar” is a coloring book published to promote awareness among children. It includes drawings and scientific information about Belizean plants and trees that Ancient Maya used for cultivation thousands of years ago.
Channel 5 Belize News Article
Channel 7 Belize News Article