Mr. Smithersasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement with regard to measures now being taken to assist the Maya in British Honduras.
§ Mr. LytteltonUnder the Development Plan recently approved, measures to deal with the special problems of rural communities include arrangements for teaching the people how to control disease, grow better crops, breed better cattle and market their produce to better advantage. The Agricultural Department will be strengthened and the Toledo Agricultural Station will be re-established so that a trained agricultural officer will be available to devote more time to the special problems of the Maya.
If necessary, an administrative officer with special anthropological training will be appointed to take charge of Maya affairs. The Maya will share in the benefits of the schemes for raising cattle and extending the cultivation of rice in the Toledo district. On Indian reservation land it is proposed to have a soil conservation scheme and to conserve and develop the Polak trees for export of balsa wood.
At San Antonio the Maya community now have a co-operative society and a rural dispensary is being built. At San Pedro Columbia a handicraft group has been organised and instruction is given in the processing of fibre.