Maya Centre Women's Group
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1984 as a result of jaguar studies conducted in the area by Alan Rabinowitz. The boundaries were expanded in 1990 and again in 1997. Residents of Quam Bank, a Maya village within the boundaries of Cockscomb, were relocated to an new village (Maya Centre), but have preserved their traditional lifestyle. Maya Centre is located south of Dangriga on the Southern Highway and is the gateway to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, seven miles down a red dirt road.The Belize Audubon Society's advocacy program works with guardian communities, such as Maya Centre, to create a balance between the people and the environment. One result of community outreach is the Maya Centre Women's Group. If you visit Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary you will surely meet the friendly Women's Group, which sells entrance tickets. Through an agreement with the Belize Audubon Society, 10% of the sales go directly to the group. They also have colorful gift shop filled with traditional arts and crafts, such as slate carvings, wood carvings, jipijapa baskets, calabash, Mopan Maya clothing, and jewelry. Their website is really great and goes into more detail about the group and how crafts are made. In December I'm planning a computer training workshop for the Maya Centre Women's Group.
2 comments:
Scott: Do you see many Hummingbirds along the Highway?
It's difficult to see a tiny hummingbird from a moving vehicle. But I have seen a lot of hummingbirds at St. Herman's Blue Hole National Park, (most common is the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird). I don't believe any area of Belize has significantly more hummingbirds. Also, Hummingbird Highway sounds much better than the other major highways of Belize: Northern, Western, and Southern.
Correction: Maya Centre is located off of the Southern Highway (the Hummingbird Highway ends in Dangriga)
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