Maya Mopan farmers in southern Belize face socio-economic hardships,
persisting environmental constraints, and an unfavorable political climate that has
prevented land tenure stability on reservation lands. This thesis describes the agricultural
practices of a group of Mopan farmers and examines farm-site diversification and its
relationship to ecological knowledge, out-migration, agricultural markets, and indigenous
political systems. I also examine how modernization, religious conversions, and the
Mopan's introduction into a capitalist economy have led to a decline in cultural practices
and the augmentation of non-traditional behaviors among the younger generations.
Data were obtained during my fieldwork in the Cayo and Toledo Districts of
southern Belize from June-November, 2002. I conducted informal interviews with
farmers and NGOs, engaged in participant observation techniques, documented 17
diversified Mayan farms, and formulated a self-administered questionnaire that was given
to 38 students in the San Jose Village School. Additional data was acquired through
voluntary work in farmers' fields and from available anthropological and agricultural
literature.
The results of this study indicate that Mopan farmers have diversified their
farming systems by adopting new crop varieties, developing more sustainable agricultural
techniques, increasing the production of cash crops, and adjusting their traditional labor
systems. These findings are significant because they demonstrate ways in which farming communities throughout the tropics can improve their environments and economies
amidst the influences of modernization, unsustainable development, and discriminatory
government policies. / Graduation date: 2005
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28369 |
| Date | 20 May 2004 |
| Creators | Hofbauer, Derek M. |
| Contributors | Hall, Roberta |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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