Milpa
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 A typical modern Central American Milpa. The corn stalks have been bent and left to dry with cobs still on, for other crops, such as beans, to be planted. (Note: the banana plants in the background are not native, but are now a common part of modern Central American agriculture) |
Milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucatán peninsula area of Mexico. The word milpa is a Mexican Spanish term meaning "field", and is derived from the Nahuatl word phrase mil-pa "to the field" (Nahuatl mil-li "field" + -pa "towards"). Based on the ancient agricultural methods of Maya peoples and other Mesoamerican peoples, milpa agriculture produces maize, beans, and squash. The milpa cycle calls for 2 years of cultivation and eight years of letting the area lie fallow. Agronomists point out that the system is designed to create relatively large yields of food crops without the use of artificial pesticides or fertilizers, and they point out that while it is self-sustaining at current levels of consumption, there is a danger that at more intensive levels of cultivation the milpa system can become unsustainable.
- See also: Wikipedia
- Related: Agriculture in Mesoamerica, El Pilar, Forest gardening, Maya diet and subsistence, Terra preta, Three Sisters (agriculture)
| Milpa Agroecosystems in Yucatan, Mexico Milpa Agroecosystems in Yucatan, Mexico www.agroecology.org/Case%20Studies/milpa.html - Web |
| Maya Forest Gardeners in Guatemala and Belize Maya Forest Gardeners in Guatemala and Belize www.mayaforestgardeners.org - Web |
| Maya Forest Garden, see The Milpa Cycle: The Essen... Maya Forest Garden, see The Milpa Cycle: The Essential Tool of the Maya Forest Garden mayaforestgardeners.org/forestgardening.php - Web |
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