Fragile Lands of Latin America Strategies for ... - PART - USAID

80 Mdrio Hiraoka
century do not mention the existence of rural settlements between
Nauta and Iquitos, except for Omaguas (Herndon, 1952; Raimondi,
1907; and Smyth and Lowe 1836). If villages did exist, they would
have been noticed by keen observers like Raimondi. It appears that,
as elsewhere in the basin, the riparian population had been greatly
reduced by repeated outbreaks of diseases and slaving raids.
Resettlement of the floodplain began in the latter part of the nine-
teenth century, following the beginning of the rubber boom in the
1880s. The existence of small Hevea stands led to the establishment of
fundos gomeros, or latex collecting estates. San Jorge, as told by its
last operator, was established in 1905 by his father, who controlled
another fundo named Santa Ana, across the river on the altura. The
estate was set up on a restinga alta along the left margin of the Amazon,
at the point the Amazon forms a single channel and drains northward.
As such, the location of San Jorge gave easy access to an extensive
floodplain and its resources. Hevea trees in the area, however, were
not numerous since the flood forests containing the resin-yielding trees
form a ribbon of only 3-4 km wide along the river. Latex collecting
was the main activity, but farming for staples, some hunting, fishing,
and collecting for other forest products were also performed concur-
rently. The fundo operator was a mestizo from San Martin, and labor
was provided by detribalized natives recruited from the upper basin,
including the margins of the Huallaga, Marailon, and Ucayali rivers
(San Romiin, 1975; Stocks, 1981). Analogous events seem to have
occurred in much of the region. It appears that no more than 20-30
families were working at the fundo at any given time. At the turn of
the century, fundos of similar size and economic function were also
found on other floodplain sites, both up and downriver from San Jorge.
Following the collapse of the Amazon latex exports in the early
1920s, emphasis shifted to tagua nuts, the seed of the yarina palm
(Phytelephas macrocarpa). As synthetics replaced it within a few years,
the market for this vegetable ivory also disappeared by 1935. A series
of short exploitive cycles based on forest or aquatic products, like
cumala seeds (Virola spp.) for oil, animal skins, timber, and ornamental
fish followed. A combination of overexploitation, substitution, or alter-
nate opportunities in urban centers like Iquitos, led to the demise of
most fundos. Control of San Jorge by its fundero ceased in 1968, when
he and his family left for Iquitos to operate a bakery in the outskirts
of the city. As this brief review of fundo development and demise
reveals, the exploitation of floodplain resources served as the main
source of income for both estate operator. and laborers, but revenues
from these activities were always so unpredictable that farming had to
be carried out concurrently to produce the needed staples.