The winners of the Follow the Farmer contest have been chosen, thanks to our celebrity judges and you – the voting public. Soon one of them will be off on a life-changing adventure in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, renowned for its white-sand beaches and posh resorts.
But make no mistake: this trip won’t involve poolside lounge chairs or umbrella drinks.
Instead, our winner will venture inland, deep into the heart of the Selva Maya, a lush tropical region with a landscape that hasn’t changed much since the days of the ancient Tulum and Coba civilizations. There, the winner will visit Noh Bec, a co-operative (ejido) that uses sustainable methods to produce mahogany, allspice, ramon nuts and more – all in harmony with the forest.
The Rainforest Alliance began working with Noh Bec and seven other ejidos in the area several years ago, and since then this group of co-operatives has become a model of sustainable forestry. Our lucky winner will visit this magical landscape, a refuge for ocellated turkeys, jaguars and tapir.
In a nearby forestry community, Nuevo Becal, forester Raymundo Cardenia talks about how working with the Rainforest Alliance has helped transform his ejido. Cardenia extracts timber during the dry season, while also cultivating corn, beans, squash and other crops. He says that his community and seven other ejidos in the region received training and technical assistance from the Rainforest Alliance in financial planning, environmental monitoring and other areas.
Nuevo Becal subsequently received a donation from an international funder to help set aside part of its forest as a nature reserve, which is home to jaguars, puma, deer and the rare king vulture. Part of those funds compensated ejido members for income lost by abstaining from forestry activities in the reserve. “It showed us that our natural resources, like wildlife, can benefit us directly,” says Cardenia.
Though Nuevo Becal has not yet earned Forest Stewardship Council certification for its forestry activities, the community is preparing for this important step with the help of the Rainforest Alliance. The success that the ejido members have had so far shows what’s possible when the control of forests is returned to the communities that most depend on them for their survival.
Stay tuned for the upcoming Follow the Farmer winner’s travelogue about sustainable forestry operations in this magical, fascinating and precious region of Mexico.
Learn more about the Rainforest Alliance’s work to protect lives, lands and livelihoods around the world.
Content on this page is provided by the Rainforest Alliance, supporter of the Vital Signs platform.
Correction: A previous version noted that scarlet macaws reside in the Selva Maya, which was incorrect. The region is home to ocellated turkeys.
