The Maya Atlas was made by the forty-two Ke'kchi and Mopan Maya communities of southern Belize. The maps, text, drawings, photographs and interviews were done by Maya village researchers and cartographers elected by the communities. In their own words and with their own maps, the Maya describe their land and life, the threats to their culture and rain forest, and their desire to protect and manage their own Homeland. The Atlas is an important step in developing a Maya Homeland. The Maya researchers and cartographers made the Atlas so that their communities, young people and leaders would have a comprehensive, village-by-village, regional understanding of the state of Maya natural and human resources and their traditions of living in harmony with nature - what is being lost, and what needs to be preserved and developed. The Atlas is a window to both the ancient and modern Maya world. The Atlas will appeal to people interested in indigenous rights, environmental issues, Latin America, arts, ethnography, traditional knowledge, community-based conservation, and the New Cartography, which involves cartographers assisting local communities to map their own lands and land use.
For the past dozen years, I've worked full-time as a freelance writer, editor, photojournalist, bicycle messenger and adventure travel planning consultant.
I've contributed text and images to two dozen Fodor's and Lonely Planet travel guidebooks, and my writing has been translated into a dozen languages. For 2+ years, I was a regular contributor to the syndicated newspaper column, Travels with Lonely Planet. My main area of interest and expertise is adventure and responsible/sustainable travel with a purpose in the Americas.
I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Geography and Education. Prior to launching my freelance writing career, I was the senior writer/producer of the Webby Award-winning travel site LonelyPlanet.com.
If I'm not scribbling or shooting photos, I'm probably out scouting new hiking trails, biking to a farmers' market, hunting sublime tacos, cooking up a storm or foraging for wild edibles.
When not out rambling, I advise the National Geographic Society's Sustainable Tourism Initiative and edit and produce the Los Angeles Times Travel website (http://travel.latimes.com), for Tribune Co. and Los Angeles Times Interactive.
I'm based just the other side of Dodger Stadium from Downtown LA, where I garden and inhabit a wild urban pocket with my wife and young son.
