Economic Activities to Further Maya
Development
The Mayas of Toledo mostly depend on agriculture for
their economy and growth. Industrial development is a
negative notion among the Maya people. In the past the Maya
people depended mostly on trading their produce with
neighboring Maya communities. It was not until the latter
part of the 1800's that trading changed course. People of
the ethnic groups began arriving into Maya communities to
purchase domestic animals such as swine and other
commodities such as rice and beans.
In the late 1950s there was a tremendous change in the
economic development of the Maya people. The production of
paddy grains became abundant because of the introduction of
the mechanized farming. Many of the Maya people could not
finance such mechanized work. So they continued the
traditional way of living.
A chief advantage of modern life among the Maya is the
educational system. Until the beginning of the 1900s the
Maya people lacked a formal educational system. At first,
only a minority of the Maya people attended primary school,
while the majority continued to survive on farm produce.
Most Maya young people of today have attended and are still
attending grade schools, but there is need for the
introduction of industrial economic activities among the
Maya people for a better way of life and for the educated
youths to do their part.
The economic activities to develop ourseleves as Maya
people need to be improved in order to improve ourselves.
There is a need for a Maya market-a general Maya market
where farm produce can be sold locally and beyond.
The economic activities now available for us include
farming (rice, cacao, beans, corn, citrus), raising animals,
self-employment in ecotourism and arts and crafts, teaching,
and timber industry. Prosperity in agriculture and livestock
is inhibited by lack of markets locally and abroad, and low
prices. Few Maya have the education necessary to become
teachers, and many people lack the experience and training
to earn sufficient income in self-employment. Timber
industry jobs are presently very limited and unsatisfactory
because the Maya do not yet have the resources and training
to develop their own sawmills, and thus must work for
foreign companies who do not respect the environment or our
culture.
The economic activities now available for us include
farming (rice, cocoa, beans, corn, citrus), raising animals,
self-employment in ecotourism and arts and crafts, teaching,
and timber industry. Prosperity in agriculture and livestock
is inhibited by lack of market locally and abroad, and low
prices. Few Maya have the education necessary to become
teachers, and many lack the experience and training to make
sufficient income in self-employment. Timber industry is
very limited because the Maya do not yet have the resources
and training to develop their own sawmills, and thus must
work for foreign companies who do not respect the
environment or our culture.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Creation of an agricultural board that will speak on
behalf of Maya farmers; such a board would negotiate for
good prices on goods and develop new markets within
Belize and internationally.
- Establishment of a Maya high school in Toledo.
- Development of cooperatives, including women's
groups.
- Development of sustainable, Indian-owned
logging.
- Creation of a Maya Development Fund to finance new
economic activities and provide funds for necessary
training.
- Identification of ways for the Maya community to be
more self-sufficient, for example to grow our own cotton
for our cloths.
- Investigation of possibilities for the development of
industry in the villages.
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