Small Great Guardians of the Land
In Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, a group of women raise native bees and work to protect pollinators, essential for conserving their territory.
Bee Nest (Scaptotrigona mexicana) Showing the Queen (2025) by Antares Beakovic Lauria (photographer) and Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
The Los Tuxtlas region (Veracruz) is home to women reshaping their story alongside bees. They form MARETUX, Agroecological Meliponiculturists in Network, guardians of native bees and of the land where they were born.
In Mexico, 46 stingless bee species have been identified. These meliponines embody the country’s biodiversity. One of them, Scaptotrigona mexicana, has transformed the lives of MARETUX women.
A Honey Full of Properties (2025) by Antares Beakovic Lauria (photographer) and Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
Honey and other products from these bees are richer in properties than those from common bees. Beyond their flavor, they are highly valued for their medicinal effects.
MARETUX emerged over 20 years ago from community associations seeking to empower women and care for natural resources.
In 2018, destiny brought them to meliponas, and with them a new path of resistance and hope was born: meliponiculture.
Most members are rural women with basic education who became leaders in health, food, and conservation projects. At first, they fought poor health, violence, and lack of resources.
Sowing Life (2025) by Estephanie Villalva (photographer) and Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
They found in medicinal plants the legacy of mothers and grandmothers, proudly reclaimed. Soon they realized caring for their land meant sowing life: gardens, native seeds, chickens, trees, and clean water.
Satisfaction (2025) by Antares Beakovic Lauria (photographer) and Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
Their meeting with bees was a revelation: “We can use our bee eyes to sharpen the senses,” they say, honoring their silent teachers. From them they learned teamwork, solidarity, and pollination as a sacred act of life.
Geometry of Work (2025) by Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
Instead of seeing them as commodities, they recognized them as sisters to protect. Honey, pollen, wax, and propolis are gifts.
Entrance to the Nest of Gifts (2025) by Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
Their syrups sweetened with honey, their ointments enriched with wax, and health arose from hive and land, without oil or chemicals.
Biocultural Wealth (2025) by Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
Thus they revived not only ancestral knowledge from mothers and grandmothers, but also traditions linked to Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica for centuries—keeping biocultural richness alive.
Their commitment expanded: workshops, school talks, participation in national meliponiculture gatherings, and an annual festival called Pollinating Territories, where they celebrate and defend pollinators.
Through four editions, this festival has built key spaces for dialogue, exchange, and celebration among rural communities of Los Tuxtlas.
Waterfalls on Volcanic Land (2024) by Francisco J. Gómez Marín (photographer) and Reserva Ecológica La Otra Opción Colectivo Rokunin
Protecting pollinators is vital in a world where their numbers have dropped sharply in the last three decades. They are essential for agriculture and for preserving ecosystems like Los Tuxtlas.
Honoring the Earth (2025) by Estephanie Villalva (photographer) and Maretux (Meliponicultoras Agroecologicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz) Colectivo Rokunin
This alliance of women and bees is not only helping them heal and flourish—it is also nurturing the entire territory.
MARETUX, Meliponicultoras Agroecológicas de los Tuxtlas Veracruz
Catemaco, Veracruz, México
Photography: Antares Beakovic Lauria, Estephanie Villalva, Francisco J. Gómez Marín, MARETUX.
Text and edition: Teresa Morte.
Coordination: Itzel Mendoza.
2025
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