ABOUT
At Mayab Holistic Center and Educational Retreat we believe in the power of travel to transform people and affect positive change. We seek to inspire, educate and help create commitment to environmental responsibility.
The most important natural features of Sian Ka'an and Mayab Center are our pristine beaches, nesting area of three species of endangered sea turtles, and our coral reef - the second largest barrier reef in the world. The increase in tourism and overdevelopment are threatening this fragile habitat.
MISSION
Our misson is to preserve and protect these precious natural resources and encourage individuals to take action in their own lives to do the same. Mayab Center will open in December of 2009. We are taking the first steps in our journey toward the following goals:
- Providing access to Sian Ka'an and serving as a model of sustainable tourism for our guests
- Providing environmental education and wellness opportunities for young people and adults
- Offering retreats to connect humans to nature in spiritual, holistic ways
- Supporting a turtle research station on our land
- Allowing students of all ages to participate in turtle research by volunteering during nesting season
- Establishing a land stewardship foundation to purchase more habitat to protect and preserve for the future
- Participating a local resource conservation/recycling program in Tulum.
BY ATTENDING A RETREAT OR BOOKING A ROOM AT MAYAB CENTER, YOU DIRECTLY SUPPORT THESE GOALS.
DELAINIA HAUG, FOUNDER
To teach is to touch the heart, to awaken passion, to create change - one individual at a time. For the past 18 years, my work as an educator has been in teaching English in an urban high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have always believed, and have always taught my students, that each of us, and the way we each choose to live our lives, makes a difference.
In addition to teacher, I am a lifelong learner, a lover of travel and am passionate about all things natural. In1998 I visited the Yucatan Peninsula for the first time, exploring both the beaches and the ancient Mayan cities. I fell in love with the environment, the people and the culture. Over the next 10 years my visits evolved into a dream of opening a school on the beach where adults and young people could come together and connect with nature, learn about ecosystems hands on, and leave with a stronger sense of personal responsibility for the earth.
In 2009, I left my teaching job in Minneapolis to commit full time to the creation of Mayab Holistic Center and Educational Retreat. While my enthusiasm for urban education has not diminished, I feel certain I am embarking on a journey to touch even more hearts and create change where it is most vital. Teaching is my mission and I am certain that this next step in my life's work as an educator is to contribute my energies and passion for education to the earth, to help reawaken human compassion and a deep and necessary sense of personal responsibility for our planet.
If I am not on the beach at Mayab, you will probably find me tooling around on backroads in my VW van with my dog or my partner, Joe, looking for adventure, and hugging trees.
FINALLY, MAYAB MEANS "THE LAND OF THE CHOSEN ONES" IN THE MAYA LANGUAGE. FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO JOIN US, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF A TRULY SPECIAL, SACRED AREA - THE PERFECT PLACE TO CREATE A COMMUNITY OF HEALERS, GUARDIANS OF NATURE, EDUCATORS AND SEEKERS WHO WISH TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOMETHING POSITIVE ON THE PLANET, AND JOIN IN AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE YUCATAN AS PART OF THE MAYAB.