A milpa is a field, usually but not always recently cleared, in which farmers plant a dozen crops at once including maize, avocados, multiple varieties of squash and bean, melon, tomatoes, chilis, sweet potato, jícama, amaranth, and mucuna ...
Milpa is a symbiotic and symbolic interplanting of beans, corn (maize), and squash in Mesoamerican and North American Indigenous agricultural tradition.
It is based on a polyculture of maize (Zea mays L.), bean (Phaseolus spp.) and squash (Cucurbita spp.) and is associated with a great diversity of crops and wild species. The milpa has great cultural and historical importance but can also be highly productive and provide sufficient and healthy diets for smallholder farmers.
Milpa farming originated in Mesoamerica, especially among the Maya civilization, and has been continuously practiced for over 4,000 years. The term “milpa” itself derives from the Nahuatl words milli (sown field) and pan (on top of), and it describes the temporary, biodiverse field itself.
What is the Milpa Cycle? The Maya use a sustainable method of farming and managing the Maya forest called the milpa cycle. The cycle spans approximately 20 years and involves the skilled selection of plant species to sustain the Maya Forest as one of the most biodiverse places in the world.
For centuries, the milpa system, a traditional agricultural practice from Mesoamerica, has sustained communities by ensuring food security and preserving biodiversity.
The "Milpa" system is a traditional intercropping system of regional vegetables. Present day Mayan farmers cultivate this intercropping system through the practice of slash and burn together with small plots of other vegetable crops such as chiles, corn, beans, and squash.