Few people have been more oppressed than the local inhabitants during the Colonization era in any part of the world. The Zoque and Tzotzil are no exception to this rule. With the Spanish Conquistadors they saw their loss of land and forced labor. Through generations, they learned to make due with whatever few crops and plants they could grow on their gardens.

When the Mexican Revolution came, some of their lands were returned, but as industrialization took root, more and more land was taken for cattle and forestry and once again the Zoque and Tzotzil communities see their lands threatened.

Years and years of oppression have not broken them, though. They make due with whatever little they have and their traditions live on. As José, a local inhabitant from Cerro Blanco, tells us,

“We work hard in our cacaotales (cacao plantations) every day and so we learn patience. We do not have much land, but with patience, we can make the best of it in sustainable ways. Patience is what makes us grow and prosper as a family. It is important to teach our children how to be patient and to protect our land, so every generation can prosper.”

It is the vision of our project to empower the local populace and help them in every way we can to produce more with their land in a sustainable way. Cacao is grown in a diverse agroforestry system and cacaotales act as a buffer zone between urbanization and the forest. They can feed the local population and at the same time protect the Rainforest from the ever-threatening urban spot. They can be planted together with as much as 40 different trees and crop species which can help the communities sustain themselves and preserve the environment.

We are slowly pushing to help the local communities convert old cattle pastures into cacaotales. We know we have a long way to go but just looking at some of the local Spider Monkeys that have come back to the area and hearing of Jaguar sightings in the vicinity let us know that we are on the right path.