Karla Renata Escamilla Cárdenas
Indigenous Maya communities have been keeping stingless bees for millennia; it is referred to as meliponiculture. Unfortunately, the biocultural heritage it represents is now threatened by deforestation and globalisation. Maya communities traditionally have home gardens that act as multi-layered agroforestry systems, vital for biocultural diversity conservation, while promoting landscape connectivity and providing habitat for stingless bees (Meliponini: Apidae) and beekeeping practices.
Cephalotrigona zexmeniae foraging in home garden. © Renata Escamilla.
Through participatory mapping of home gardens according to their composition, structure, and functions, as well as mapping the area of influence of meliponaries with beekeeping families in eastern Yucatán, we will characterise the territory in which they practise this activity, identifying both favourable conditions and threats.
We will work on the generation of a baseline for the future co-design of a monitoring strategy for home gardens from an agroecological framework, and we will promote networking through the exchange of beekeeping and mapping experiences.