The Mayan Atlas was made by the forty-two Ke'Kechi and Mopan communities of southern Belize. The maps, text, photographs, drawings and interviews were done by Maya village researchers and cartographers elected by the communities. In their own words and with their own maps, the Maya describe their culture and rain forest, and their desire to protect and manage their own land.    

The Atlas is an important step in developing a Mayan Homeland. The Mayan researchers and cartographers made the Atlas so that their communities, young people and leaders would comprehensive, village-by-village, regional understanding of the state of Maya nature and human resources and their their traditions of living in harmony with nature-what is being lost and what needs to be preserved and developed. The Atlas is a window to both the ancient and modern Maya world.