One key thing I noticed in Mexico was the respect they had for the natural land they live in. When we visited Noberto and his family and watched Alejandro harvest the resin, it was easy to witness this respect first hand. Norberto and his family have been harvesting resin from the chicozapote trees for hundreds of years. Before he began harvesting, Alejandro first checked the tree to be sure that it contained enough resin. This is a sustainable method that ensures each tree is not harvested until it contains enough resin to be used. In addition to this, they wait 5-10 years before harvesting from the same tree. This allows the trees to heal and regrow to keep the jungle healthy. From what I have witnessed on this trip, the Mayan people use the land efficiently and only take from it what they need. This is partially due to the respect they have towards the land and they do not experience the need to place development over protection of land.
In the United States, there is a corporate need to continue development of land and resources to make a profit and a general lack of respect for the natural world. This is known as seeing the instrumental value of the land we live on. Since the government shutdown, National Parks have been suffering due to the ignorance of people and a lack of respect. In California at Joshua Tree National Park, people have been vandalizing the land by cutting down trees. All over the country, piles of trash are growing and land is being destroyed. There is a general lack of respect for public land and it is difficult for many people to understand the relationship people have with the environment they live in.
The Mayan people aren’t told by anyone that they need to respect the land they live on. They rely on the natural land around them to gather resources and can see that if they continue to care for it, they will continue to be able to benefit from it.
Explorando en Yucatán 