Punta Gorda, Belize : +501-670-0993 (BZ), +001-301-328-2022 (US)
PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES
Julian Cho Memorial
Land Rights Struggle
MACHI - Heritage
MEF - Education
MYC - Youth
and the
aya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative
In 2007 the Julian Cho Society initiated a creative education program about Maya prehistory and archaeological conservation in the Toledo District, in collaboration with the Maya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative (MACHI). With the help of local NGOs and indigenous leaders, MACHI promotes the conservation of Maya cultural heritage through informal education programs in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and southern Belize. Through this joint venture our organizations encourage Maya identity and human rights training in the Toledo District.
The JCS-MACHI program focuses on informal presentations and engaging activities for students. Presentations address general aspects of ancient Maya culture, food and farming, household knowledge, the Maya calendar and cosmology, architecture and city centers, ancient entertainment and writing, warfare, and the ballgame. The staff at Julian Cho Society modeled teaching ideas and creative lesson plans around these categories and began instructing in seven Maya primary schools in Septemeber of 2008.
JCS and MACHI have also reached out to a broader portion of the community. During the summer they have sponsored movie nights in rural villages and delivered cultural heritage presentations to the Maya Youth Coalition. The Tumul K’in Center for Learning has also been a recipient of the program’s efforts through rigorous Maya history course instruction, cooperative work in a radio broadcasting initiative, and through support of Maya Days, an annual celebration hosted by the school.
It is exciting to see the positive responses to our efforts; the communities’ desire to foster living culture while learning about ancient ways of life is clear. We are currently developing ways to expand the program for the next school year and in the community, as the JCS-MACHI collaboration in Toledo Maya villages continues.
JCS and MACHI have also reached out to a broader portion of the community. During the summer they have sponsored movie nights in rural villages and delivered cultural heritage presentations to the Maya Youth Coalition. The Tumul K’in Center for Learning has also been a recipient of the program’s efforts through rigorous Maya history course instruction, cooperative work in a radio broadcasting initiative, and through support of Maya Days, an annual celebration hosted by the school.
It is exciting to see the positive responses to our efforts; the communities’ desire to foster living culture while learning about ancient ways of life is clear. We are currently developing ways to expand the program for the next school year and in the community, as the JCS-MACHI collaboration in Toledo Maya villages continues.
