"The Maya Forest Garden" it's a book by Cynthia Ellis Topsey and Dr. Anabel Ford. It was launched at the Image Factory in 2016. Well, they are now bringing the book to life with an exhibit which will be held tomorrow evening in Belmopan. There is also an invitation only tea party this evening at the Governor General's residence in Belmopan. We spoke to both of the authors via phone and they told us about the importance of the forest and forest gardeners.

Cynthia Ellis Topsey - Mentor
"The idea is to really embrace the power of our national anthem which looks at nature blessing us with wealth untold of which El Pilar is a major example of that wealth that has been untold for too long. So the tea is an opportunity where government officials, the diplomatic core, diverse leaders of the community throughout the country and the world will be introduced to the gift of forest gardeners and forest gardening whilst the exhibition which will be tomorrow this is going to be at the national library is an exhibition that will be up for 2 months and it will give a more timely opportunity to study the details of the diversity and beauty of El Pilar and the rainforest, archeology under the canopy."

Courtney Weatherburne
"Talk to us more about the role of forest gardeners and how this entire initiative celebrates them and the forest."

Dr. Anabel Ford - El Pilar Program
"Well, we're celebrating them because they are maintaining this landscape in a way that is very useful and beneficial not only family but to everyone and their activities on the landscape can serve water, build biodiversity, enrich the soil and care for people and feed people in a way you eat the fruit, you can get medicine. They know all the intimacies and we cannot let that pass. Already 4 of the 18 people that I have spent time with have died and they are valuable, we're losing like an encyclopedia, this is trying to celebrate and trying to identify more people, we don't know them all, they can come forward and we would like to know more about them and more about how we can build our food provenance here, eating things that are right off our landscape."

The exhibit will be launched tomorrow evening at 5:30 at the National Heritage Library. It will be opened for 2 months. Ford is calling on other forest gardeners out there to contact her so she can learn more about their work.