Our long time neighbour Rosita Arvigo, who is well-known for her apprenticeship with the late Don Elijio Panti, Belize’s most revered Maya healer, was recently the subject of an article in the Chicago Reader.

Brion Young, who is also a naturalist guide at The Lodge at Chaa Creek, which sponsors the NHC, said he believes that education is the key to preserving Belize’s rich Maya heritage.

“Who in their right mind would deliberately destroy a structure that was created thousands of years ago, using the most primitive tools to build something of such complexity and beauty? This is a part of not only Belize’s, but the world’s cultural heritage, and it has been demolished for road fill. And in a country where we have no end of suitable material just laying around,” he said.

The fear that Belize’s indigenous corn, which was first developed by the ancestors of Belize’s Maya population, will be threatened by the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops in this tiny Caribbean country was just one of many concerns raised during a recent “GMO Awareness Month”, according to Belizean environmentalists at Chaa Creek.

Composting is the natural process of ‘rotting’ or decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms under controlled conditions. Raw organic materials such as crop residues, animal wastes, food garbage, some municipal wastes and suitable industrial wastes, enhance their suitability for application to the soil as a fertilizing resource, after having undergone composting.

Funded by the National Cancer Institute in New York, Rosita Arvigo is in a race against time, scouring the tropical rain-forests of Central America in search of cures for many deadly diseases like AIDS and Cancer, before they are wiped out by deforestation.

Belize has one of the world’s most rich and diverse flora and fauna and offers a broad range of habitats for amazing wildlife living from open savannas to mountainous regions. The country has approximately 145 species of mammals, 139 species of reptiles and amphibians including 56 plus species of snakes, over 4000 species of flowering plant including some 700 trees and 250 species of orchids. Belize is also a birder’s paradise, with over 500 species of rare and exotic birds thriving in its many distinct habitats.

“February and especially St Valentine’s Day has always been a big month for us here at Chaa Creek, and this year we’re offering even more special activities and tours aimed at giving couples a truly exceptional exotic getaway. Love will definitely be in the air all month long,” she said.

The Maya named this plant after the Goddess of the Forest and Healing, Ix-canan likely due to the abundant anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties used in treating a large variety of skin ailments. Everything from sores, ulcers, fungus, rashes, burns, insect bites, burns, and bee stings can be treated effectively with this natural plant remedy.

As anthropologist Joe Awe explained to the guests who attended the unveiling ceremony held at Chaa Creek, the ancient Maya used the carved stone monuments to record important dates and events in their various city-states spread across the vast Maya empire, which covered all of Belize and parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Rather than misinterpreting Maya beliefs to falsely predict the end of the world, researching and practicing ancient Maya medicine and natural healing techniques can open a new world of health today, noted author and Maya medicinal plant expert Dr. Rosita Arvigo advised participants at Chaa Creek’s 2012 Maya Winter Solstice celebrations.

“Surprise, surprise; we’re still here,” Mr Waight said as a large group of guests, staff members and their families, Chaa Creek’s owners and local villagers prepared for the procession to the ancient Maya temple of Tunichilen and an exuberant celebration to, as Mr Waight said, “Mark the end of one long cosmic cycle and the beginning of another.”

Ms Fleming said that people from around the world have been converging at the Belizean eco resort for days of educational workshops and hands-on training in Maya skills such as tortilla and chocolate making, thatching with jungle palm fronds and the use of medicinal plants in preparation for the grand ceremonies that will take place on the evening of December 21 2012.

According the December 19 Sydney Morning Herald article (“China alert to doomsday rumours”), authorities in China have detained more than 90 people across seven provinces for spreading rumours about so-called Maya prophesies linking the 2012 Winter Solstice to the end of the world. According to the reports, theories posted on the internet and in the US film “2012,” which was hugely popular in China, have fueled fears of what is being called the “Maya Apocalypse” resulting in people scrambling to prepare for survival.

Dr Jaime Awe, one of the expert guest speakers at Chaa Creek’s weeklong Maya culture exposition, scoffed at theories that the world would end on December 21, 2012, and, as a noted author and anthropologist, said he could back his assertions with scientific facts.

“We’ll be updating our posts throughout the week with information gleaned from the workshops, seminars and lectures we’re hosting, and will be compiling that information into one document to be released early next year. Besides hosting a great celebration, we’re hoping that renewed interest in this fascinating culture will be an outcome of the 2012 Winter Solstice,” Ms Fleming said.

Brion Young, assistant manager of the Chaa Creek NHC, which, among other activities, catalogues the Maya presence in Belize, was commenting on media reports that the Director of the Institute of Archaeology of Belize, Dr Jaime Awe, is suing the producers of the 2008 Harrison Ford film “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” for use without permission of one of Belize’s most iconic and controversial images, the Crystal Skull.

As international attention focuses on the Maya during 2012, it is important for the world to realise that the Maya people are still battling to preserve their culture, Brion Young, assistant manager at the Chaa Creek Natural History Museum in Belize said today.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, three deluxe packages for The Lodge at Chaa Creek’s 2012 Maya Winter Solstice celebration have become available, marketing administrator Larry Waight announced today.

This is a time of great cultural significance, as one cycle spanning millennia ends and another begins with the completion of the Maya Long Count’s 13th Ba’ k tun. Forget sensationalism and misinformation surrounding 2012, Chaa Creek will be hosting celebrations that focus on the true nature of this epoch with factual information, cultural integrity and respect for the people of this vibrant civilisation who still make up a significant portion of Belize’s population.