Abstract

This article draws upon multispecies ethnographic fieldwork with the Maya Ixil in Iximulew (Guatemala) to identify a model of biodiversity conservation that decolonizes food systems in situ through biocultural practices of care work with more-than-human others. Built in reciprocity, beyond the species model, the Milpa Maya Ixil engineers a multispecies food system, rematriates an Indigenous People to their ancestral territory, and contributes to a global social justice movement. More-than-human caretakers of the milpa and Ixil food and seed sovereignty initiatives generate a local living economy. Ixil biocultural protocols and local notions of development (tiichajil) valorize ancestral knowledge systems and biocultural practices of reciprocity. A decolonized model of biocultural and biodiversity conservation, cycles seeds and abundance from an economy of the soil. The article advocates for recognition, support, and compensation for this critically important care work that the Ixil perform to steward biodiversity in situ.

Keywords: Maya Ixil, milpa, rematriation, biodiversity conservation, food sovereignty, campesinx, carework

How to Cite:

D'Alesandro, G., (2025) “The milpa's Maya Ixil caretakers, multispecies biocultural diversity conservation, and designs for more-than-human abundance”, Journal of Political Ecology 32(1): 5836. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.5836