This thesis is an investigation of the impacts of extreme weather on the livelihoods of households in the hillside communities of the Jesus de Otoro Valley, Honduras. Extreme weather events can have profound negative impacts on livelihoods that rely heavily on natural resources, such as agriculture. The reliance of hillside households on agriculture and related activities for survival makes this population critically vulnerable to the negative impacts of extreme weather. This study found that the livelihood resources of this group that are most affected by extreme weather events are cash income and human health. Strong rains, drought and extreme temperatures have several direct impacts on household income, not only for hillside farmers themselves, but also for the merchants whose businesses have been developed to serve them. Extreme weather events also have multiple direct impacts on human health. Increased incidence of bacterial infections and communicable diseases are serious effects of strong rains, drought and temperature extremes. This study found a clear positive feedback link between decreased income and deterioration of health. Climate change studies predict that extreme weather events will become more frequent and severe. If these predictions are correct, hillside households will suffer potentially devastating impacts on their livelihoods. The coping strategies currently employed by hillside households in the face of extreme weather events are unlikely to provide the resources needed for households to survive under more severe and unstable weather conditions. / SSHRC, CIDA, Students for Development

This study addresses food security in three communities in rural, central Honduras by looking at the interrelationships among nutritious food, environmental and political forces, and cultural behaviours through the collection and analysis of local knowledge and laboratory data. Evaluation of ethnographic research were combined with analysis of policy documents and the nutritional analysis of ninety local varieties of corn. Research showed how households in three rural communities in the mountains of Honduras, struggle to access sufficient, safe and nutritious food while respecting cultural and agricultural diversity. Policies to address food security need to not only address the diversity of environmental niches, and a history of disenfranchisement of most rural farmers from the political process, but also the cultural ideals that impact definitions of hunger and nutrition. Analysis of 90 varieties of local landraces show that coloured varieties of maize have higher nutritional value for protein, anthocyanin, and vitamin A content. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Ontario Graduate Scholarship, CIDA's CGIAR-Canada Linkage Fund (CCLF)