CURWOOD: On the next Living on Earth, we travel deep into the jungle of the Yucatan peninsula where Mayan forest people work the land…and harvest chichle…gum from 500 year-old trees.

WOMAN: The way of the extract this gum is, it represents their traditions and their culture, a part of supporting their families.

CURWOOD: Saving forests and an ancient culture next time on Living on Earth.

CURWOOD: We leave you this week in the Yucatan Peninsula at an ejido or collective farm.

MAN: This song is for you. It’s a Mayan song.

CURWOOD: San Antonio Tuk is a community of Mayan farmers…sunlight filters through the dense tropical forest as a local musician entertains visiting journalists covering the UN Climate Summit five hours and a world away in Cancun.