Maya Traditions Journal > Medicinal Plant Garden

Making Spearmint Soap

Posted by on July 31, 2015

This week, garden staff and volunteers worked together to make spearmint soap. Volunteer Alix shares a bit about the process:  Spearmint soap is one out of a few organic soaps that Maya Traditions produces. This type of soap softens the skin and gives you a natural boost of energy. Best to use it for a morning wake up call!       Maya Traditions’ staff member Oseas gave a brief demonstration on how to produce these bars of soap. Ingredients consist of coconut oil, spearmint picked from the garden, olive oil, and lemon grass to create a refreshing fragrance while

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Meet Volunteer Bethany!

Posted by on July 30, 2015

The success of our work at Maya Traditions is made possible through the constant support of volunteers. Here, we introduce volunteer Bethany who is currently supporting our work in Guatemala:  Bethany was born and raised in Portland, Oregon but came to Maya Traditions from Washington, D.C. to volunteer on our organic medicinal herb garden and with other special projects. Bethany spent several years working as a Capitol Hill aide on social justice and human rights policies. Through her involvement in her community in Washington D.C., Bethany developed a passion for sustainable, organic agriculture. She pursued this passion by taking several urban

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Meet Volunteer Alix!

Posted by on July 16, 2015

The success of our work at Maya Traditions is made possible through the constant support of volunteers. Here, we introduce volunteer Alix who is currently supporting our work in Guatemala:  Hi! My name is Alix and I’m currently volunteering in the Organic Medicinal Herb Garden for Maya Traditions Foundation. I’ve been here for two weeks and am looking forward to my last three. I’ve been enjoying every minute of this opportunity to work alongside very knowledgeable people.  My main focus is to learn more about medicinal plants and sustainable practices, and I believe I’m in the right place for it!! I’m

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Maya Traditions’ Staff Highlight: Edgar

Posted by on July 02, 2015

Edgar is one of our wonderful staff at Maya Traditions. In charge of the Organic Medicinal Plant Garden, Edgar is also responsible for coordinating and supervising volunteers. Here, volunteer Eli shares a bit about Edgar, with whom she works with on a daily basis: Edgar Tuy is 20 years old and began working for Maya Traditions in an official capacity one year ago. Edgar learned about Maya Traditions Foundation from Oseas, a friend and the groundskeeper at Maya Traditions. He began assisting Oseas with work in the garden and learning about the plants before he got hired last year. Edgar

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Meet Volunteer Eli!

Posted by on July 02, 2015

The success of our work at Maya Traditions is made possible through the constant support of volunteers. Here, we introduce volunteer Eli who is currently supporting our work in Guatemala:  Hi Folks! My name is Eli and I am supporting Maya Traditions Foundation’s Community Health Program by volunteering in the Organic Medicinal Herb Garden for two months this summer. I started working on June 17th and am having a blast so far. I study Anthropology of Sustainable Food Systems at Bennington College and am interested in public health. This volunteer opportunity compliments my academic studies by providing me with opportunity to

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Local Intern Ana Supports Our Community Health Program

Posted by on June 26, 2015

Maya Traditions partners with local university student to realize  professional internships in their area of study. Here, one of our recent interns, Ana Buch Chavez, shares her experience woking with Maya Traditions, in the area of Community Health:     Programs Coordinator Marisol with artisan Vicenta and her grandfather, and local intern Ana on the right My name is Ana Buch Chavez, and I am a student of Social Work. I thank Maya Traditions Foundation for giving me the space to realize my professional internship. As a student of Social Work, one of my responsibilities was the preparation of community

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Meet Laura, Our New Community Tourism Coordinator!

Posted by on April 21, 2015

Hello!  My name is Laura Gehring, and I am proud to be the newest addition to the Maya Traditions’ team.  I will be working as the Coordinator of Community Tourism, which means I will have the huge honor of bringing visitors out into the field to see our programs and artisans in action.  Visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture of the region through visiting Maya Traditions’ Organic Medicinal Herb Garden in Panajachel and the surrounding communities where our collaborating cooperatives are located. At the Garden, visitors are free to look, touch, and taste the plants as

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Maya Traditions’ Garden Products Grow with Support from Volunteers

Posted by on February 23, 2015

With support from volunteer Grace Macneil, Maya Traditions Foundation will now be producing soaps and salves made with plants found in our Organic Medicinal Plant Garden. With this, we hope to increase access to natural products made with medicinal plants locally.  Grace, a certified traditional herbalist, has been working with medicinal plants for twenty years. In Indiana, USA, Grace has a 25 acre farm where she grows organic medicinal herbs, vegetables, and raises animals to produce dairy products and meat. Just as we use our medicinal plant garden to support our healers & artisans, Grace uses her farm as a

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Maya Traditions Staff Member Oseas Shares His Experience with Maya Traditions

Posted by on September 26, 2014

My name is Osea Chiriquin Aju and I have been working with Maya Traditions since 2001. During Oseas making shampoo this time, I have had the opportunity to work in various areas with the Foundation. I have had the opportunity to work in the areas of guardian, custodian, finance, production of products made from medicinal plants (i.e., tinctures, shampoo, ointments and teas), and as the sales manager of the products made in our garden.   I started working with the Foundation when I was seventeen years old. During this time, I was recently married and my wife was six months

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Growing Through the Support of Volunteers

Posted by on September 22, 2014

My name is Edgar Isais Tuy Vicente and I am responsible for the Organic Medicinal PlantGarden at Maya Traditions Foundation. Our Organic Medicinal Plant Garden is a beautiful, serene place where diverse ornamental and medicinal plants are grown. The purpose of the garden is to continue cultivating the knowledge and use of medicinal plants that our ancestors have left us with. We work to preserve such traditional knowledge, and promote it among the communities we work with and visitors who arrive to the garden. We also create a wide variety of products with the plants that we grow, including: Aloe

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