Escaped fires are a major threat to communities, farmlands, and forests mainly due to the traditional agricultural practices of slash and burn. Ya’axché’s Integrated Fire Management strategy guides our team to facilitate capacity building sessions to build community fire fighters and increase fire management awareness, all efforts to decrease the number of escaped fires.

The MGL farmers are implementing a slash and mulch system with inga alley cropping plots, without the need to use fire. Other farmers are conducting control burns with the supervision and support of the Ya’axché team. Ya’axché provides farmers with technical assistance on how to properly conduct a control burn and ensure all the safety protocols are implemented before, during and after a burn.

Results show that the MGL farmers are building resilience to climate change and improving their livelihoods through sustainable agriculture practices such as implementing an integrated fire management approach.