Jorge Letona's tomatoes and beans have thrived for four decades without synthetic pesticides—a practice he inherited from his father and grandfather in the mountain villages of Guatemala's Western Highlands. His story is now spreading across the region as farmers revive ancient Maya wisdom to protect their crops, cut costs, and safeguard their families' health.
In the departments of Sololá, Huehuetenango, and Chiquimula, about 60 communities are combining ancestral farming knowledge with modern sustainable techniques to create natural biopesticides from locally available plants. The revival matters because agrochemicals—expensive and linked to soil degradation and human health risks—have become increasingly burdensome for smallholder families struggling to maintain their livelihoods. By turning to organic alternatives rooted in traditions stretching back to pre-Columbian times, farmers are finding a path that works economically and ecologically.
The Maya civilization, which flourished across Central America since 2000 B.C.E., developed sophisticated agricultural systems including the milpa—an intercropping method combining maize, beans, and squash, where each plant supports the others. Historical evidence shows the Maya also used early biopesticides, such as painting a mixture of burnt lime and water around fruit trees to deter climbing pests. Today's Guatemalan farmers are updating these time-tested approaches with their own experimentation and guidance from organizations like World Neighbors, creating what program associate Dayani Roche describes as "a living combination of ancestral knowledge, local experimentation and more recent agroecological practices."
The pests facing modern farmers are formidable. Whiteflies attack tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers, while maize faces devastating fall armyworm infestations. Coffee plants battle the coffee berry borer, and fruit trees suffer from fungal infections like gomosis. When Jose Bixcul's farm in Quixayá was hit by zompopas—leafcutter ants that stripped his bean and cucumber plants bare—he turned to a mixture of chili, garlic, and cinnamon, sprayed across his crops and bolstered by strong-smelling plants like rue. The results speak for themselves: when applied consistently, these biopesticides can reduce infestations by as much as 90 percent.
The recipes are remarkably simple. Garlic, chili, and ginger—boiled or crushed and mixed with water—form potent deterrents that farmers spray directly onto plants. World Neighbors holds workshops teaching farmers how to prepare these mixtures using the bark, leaves, and flowers of endemic plants, ensuring the techniques are applied effectively. What makes this approach powerful is not just its ecological benefit, but its economic one. Biopesticides cost far less than agrochemicals, freeing resources for families to invest in other needs. Many farmers are now producing surplus food to sell, boosting household incomes while maintaining soil health and protecting water sources.
"Traditional farming techniques are becoming popular because they are simple practices to apply, use local resources, and have proven to be effective," Roche told researchers. The shift reflects a broader recognition: the knowledge passed down through generations isn't merely nostalgic. It's a practical, scalable solution to contemporary challenges. As international interest in biopesticides grows—even as chemical alternatives still dominate markets globally—Guatemala's Western Highlands are proving that honoring ancestral wisdom and modern sustainability isn't a choice between tradition and progress. It's both, rooted in the soil and the resilience of families who've always known how to make the mountains feed them.