Day Ten

Two Sides of Paradise
There is a problem in paradise. At the current rate of deforestation, the jungle Eden that surrounds the ancient Maya city of Uaxactún will be gone in a few decades. But who is cutting down the forest?

This is an example of rainforest cleared to make way for a homestead.

Earlier today I set out to find out. I tracked down Jose Mauricio Martinez, a farmer who personally cleared a tract of jungle the size of fifty football fields.

The promise of free land attracted Jose to the Petén thirty years ago. He and his young wife spent their first years clearing land to plant crops. They lived in a thatched-roof house, barely surviving off their crops.

Since then, he cleared more land and now has enough room to rotate his crops. It's hard work for little pay. His wife has to run a small store to supplement their income. They still make less than $100 per month.

	Jose was born in the town of Jutiapa, near the Salvadoran border.

"It gave me great pain," Jose said when I asked him how he felt about leveling the forest. "It is our third lung, the source of cooling breezes. But, what could I do? I had to feed my family."

"People don't realize that we 'Peteneros' respect the forest," he continued. "In fact, I've planted new trees on over half of my land."

You can help stop the destruction of the Petén rainforest. Visit MayaQuest and learn how you can Make a Difference.

With Insight from the Inside,

- Dan Buettner

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