i Patrick W. Staib Anthropology This dissertation is approved, and it ...

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impoverished agrarian zones to teach organic agricultural practices to farmers who were willing to comply with its strict production, farm management, and quality standards. All farmers make sacrifices and take huge risks in order to succeed in the coffee industry, and none more than small-scale farmers. These farmers live between bankruptcy and bonanza all year long. The facets of production that are outside the farmers’ reach, such as quality control, exportable percentages, drying, threshing, marketing, and shipping, leave farmers dependent on others whose actions they cannot control. As a result the outcomes often fall short—sometimes far short—of the farmers’ needs. This dissertation is an account of a remote community that struggles against a tradition of marginalization, subjugation, and deceit. During seven years of collaboration and cooperation with small-scale coffee farmers of San Juan del Río Coco, I recognized the volatility of their economic situation. I wondered why these farmers continued to produce for an exploitative industry in support of a government that largely ignored their interests. In Las Segovias, there are no safeguards for small farmers or their families. Unforeseen illness, misfortune, or natural disasters are common causes for foreclosure. Many farmers from San Juan had sold their land to larger producers when times were tough. Many more have abandoned their parcels to seek better payment for manual labor in nearby El Salvador or Costa Rica. The risk incurred while traveling with so few resources and no insurance would be unthinkable by my North American standards. Also, it is important to keep in mind that the Contra War between government forces and the revolutionary Sandinistas took place in this very region. I do not devote much space here to the dynamics of life and work in a former conflict zone, but the x
aftershocks of a war in this community had still not worn off, fifteen years after peace was settled. Impressively, among the farmers with whom I worked were both former Sandinistas, or compas, and Contra soldiers. Many of them had fought against each other in nearby arenas of battle. Because I too lost family and loved ones as a result of that war, I find it significant that these people can work to heal past wounds by supporting each other in generating productive activity, managing land, and conserving the local ecosystem. My background plays an important role in this effort to better understand current development modes in Nicaragua. I am a first-generation U.S. citizen born to a German father and a Nicaraguan mother. My parents both struggled to overcome the poverty of post-WWII Germany and Somoza-era Nicaragua and eventually emigrated to the United States. My academic inquiry into the history of injustice and exploitation in poor, Latin American nations comes directly from my parents’ influence and my ethnic background as a multicultural and transnational scholar. Chapter Overview In this dissertation I stress how and where Segovian small-scale coffee farmers are included in the design and implementation by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) of alternative and/or sustainable forms of economic development. The farmers of Las Segovias may appear to be passive recipients of charitable and governmental programs that aim to improve their lives. However, this research shows that the farmers of Las Grietas, in particular, are actively contesting, reinterpreting, and adapting external influences on productive and marketing practices along the lines of norms and values that xi
Page 1 and 2: Patrick W. Staib Candidate Anthropo
Page 3 and 4: COFFEE AND THE COUNTRYSIDE: SMALL F
Page 5 and 6: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I heartily acknowle
Page 7 and 8: Informal Economy in San Juan del R
Page 9: Preface La sabiduria y la constante
Page 13 and 14: This chapter brings the reader into
Page 15 and 16: Introduction: The Fieldwork I first
Page 17 and 18: I had visited Matagalpa in 2000, wh
Page 19 and 20: agricultural extension agents 3 in
Page 21 and 22: Figure 1. Map of Nicaragua showing
Page 23 and 24: Nevertheless, San Juan was the idea
Page 25 and 26: Telpaneca today is a depressed muni
Page 27 and 28: Figure 2. Electoral map of San Juan
Page 29 and 30: espondents reported that at least o
Page 31 and 32: In my experience assisting small-sc
Page 33 and 34: fieldwork, including surveying, int
Page 35 and 36: crop aggregation meeting simply bec
Page 37 and 38: The following chapters are an overv
Page 39 and 40: Don Amado raised his family of six
Page 41 and 42: once-bustling colonial center of Nu
Page 43 and 44: One afternoon, while sitting on his
Page 45 and 46: Chapter 1 Regional Identity Formati
Page 47 and 48: Vásquez’ records indicate that t
Page 49 and 50: The native Segovians apparently coo
Page 51 and 52: The role of native Segovians was ke
Page 53 and 54: thousands 22 of passengers to Nicar
Page 55 and 56: The Pueblos de Indios stood in the
Page 57 and 58: industry leader and an advocate for
Page 59 and 60: The mid to late 1980s proved to be
Page 61 and 62:
The Indigenous Revolt of 1881 and I
Page 63 and 64:
These communities appear to have es
Page 65 and 66:
sectors of society forced rural com
Page 67 and 68:
Nationalist writers Gámez (1889),
Page 69 and 70:
San Juan farmers’ understandings
Page 71 and 72:
Sandinista Revolution made signific
Page 73 and 74:
Sandino’s Influential Rebellion A
Page 75 and 76:
Migrant workers in the Babilonia go
Page 77 and 78:
In an ironic turn of events, the Sa
Page 79 and 80:
Somoza regime and U.S. economic and
Page 81 and 82:
The high ideals of the Sandinista r
Page 83 and 84:
three special zones. Las Segovias,
Page 85 and 86:
economic activity for rural communi
Page 87 and 88:
Over time, some members wanted to g
Page 89 and 90:
Chapter 3 Personal Histories of Agr
Page 91 and 92:
to talk about the confiscation of S
Page 93 and 94:
mountains, El Malacate, El Majaste,
Page 95 and 96:
transport between Samarkanda and Sa
Page 97 and 98:
high-altitude farmland. Don Mundo,
Page 99 and 100:
areas. The Contras were former Guar
Page 101 and 102:
effort. As Don Ramón put it, “la
Page 103 and 104:
The project was called Huertos Fami
Page 105 and 106:
who is president of the Carlos Fons
Page 107 and 108:
Part Two Development: International
Page 109 and 110:
I consider how organic coffee fits
Page 111 and 112:
Small-Scale Agrarian Communities, D
Page 113 and 114:
Although the ideological justificat
Page 115 and 116:
(Richards 1985; Dennis 1987). Latin
Page 117 and 118:
dominated much of Third World expor
Page 119 and 120:
depleting natural resources or degr
Page 121 and 122:
communities experience tensions and
Page 123 and 124:
I sat in and helped facilitate seve
Page 125 and 126:
urning. When the wind was calm, our
Page 127 and 128:
Marvin was involved with a rural en
Page 129 and 130:
Hurricane Mitch and the Internation
Page 131 and 132:
Conclusion Because the plant and th
Page 133 and 134:
The Farmers of Las Grietas Upon mee
Page 135 and 136:
stonemason and carpenter for local
Page 137 and 138:
for work in the past five years? If
Page 139 and 140:
for Danilo, but not as closely as w
Page 141 and 142:
The lives of these three families h
Page 143 and 144:
Adrian was able to invest in a bene
Page 145 and 146:
employee dormitories. The large far
Page 147 and 148:
Wiwilí. Danilo had to show proof o
Page 149 and 150:
in Nicaragua, and I encountered it
Page 151 and 152:
from the training in production tec
Page 153 and 154:
farmers who receive pre-harvest fin
Page 155 and 156:
award committee, in 2003 and 2004.
Page 157 and 158:
time farm staff. Danilo, on the oth
Page 159 and 160:
were able to accumulate large tract
Page 161 and 162:
natural resources, to conserve, pro
Page 163 and 164:
The growers share a collective resp
Page 165 and 166:
Danilo, Maragojipe does not thrive
Page 167 and 168:
In August and September, farmers fo
Page 169 and 170:
gallon bucket of coffee cherries, a
Page 171 and 172:
section with smaller Catuaí plants
Page 173 and 174:
The beans turn from a pale green to
Page 175 and 176:
Rainforest Alliance and the Audubon
Page 177 and 178:
Figure 5. Depulping coffee with mot
Page 179 and 180:
engañar facilmente (They [the brok
Page 181 and 182:
farmers are not adept at these proc
Page 183 and 184:
The International Cup of Excellence
Page 185 and 186:
Organic Farming Responsibilities In
Page 187 and 188:
The Nicaraguan Rural Development In
Page 189 and 190:
unsuccessfully combated, can only b
Page 191 and 192:
Organic Fertilizers Many coffee far
Page 193 and 194:
community. This means, for example,
Page 195 and 196:
application. Most farmers had not e
Page 197 and 198:
They returned that evening empty-ha
Page 199 and 200:
Danilo’s fields as we talked with
Page 201 and 202:
converting to organic production. H
Page 203 and 204:
in their cooperative and communitie
Page 205 and 206:
organizational strategies present m
Page 207 and 208:
Part Three Outcomes: Cooperative Or
Page 209 and 210:
organizational models that have bee
Page 211 and 212:
coffee farmer, and José Manuel Mor
Page 213 and 214:
El estado cuenta con nosotros porqu
Page 215 and 216:
company” (la empresa) when talkin
Page 217 and 218:
their estimated yield should cover
Page 219 and 220:
firm, CISA/AGRO. Corcasan has its o
Page 221 and 222:
earning higher prices for their far
Page 223 and 224:
funding package. Corcasan brought i
Page 225 and 226:
The credit model from banks and mic
Page 227 and 228:
green coffee that weighed 412 quint
Page 229 and 230:
This is not an exact measurement, b
Page 231 and 232:
only for a few select farmers. That
Page 233 and 234:
Tito is Heberto’s oldest son. He
Page 235 and 236:
Towards the end of my fieldwork the
Page 237 and 238:
Danilo received several of the bene
Page 239 and 240:
prohibited on this farm).” Some f
Page 241 and 242:
One afternoon in August 2006, near
Page 243 and 244:
single gas station in San Juan. Bro
Page 245 and 246:
camp, was only 30 kilometers away.
Page 247 and 248:
emote parts of the community to fin
Page 249 and 250:
apparently the more diligent farmer
Page 251 and 252:
Chapter 8 Community-Based Campesino
Page 253 and 254:
campesinos y del ecosistema. No hay
Page 255 and 256:
Nosotros en la Procaoc vendemos apa
Page 257 and 258:
have the capacity to supply the dem
Page 259 and 260:
instructor, actually instructs farm
Page 261 and 262:
transparencia (There’s problems w
Page 263 and 264:
waste my time with the smaller farm
Page 265 and 266:
Javier Vanegas, accountant for the
Page 267 and 268:
conversation provided a foundation
Page 269 and 270:
carpenter; and Jorge, the assistant
Page 271 and 272:
“Nosotros [Guillermo Hernández]
Page 273 and 274:
en el servicio. (They gave it to me
Page 275 and 276:
The cooperative model for export ag
Page 277 and 278:
day went on. The music changed to l
Page 279 and 280:
would ask me about my research and
Page 281 and 282:
familiar with the community of Guan
Page 283 and 284:
houses and additional farmland, but
Page 285 and 286:
statement was in reference to Corca
Page 287 and 288:
colonial history in Chapter 1), the
Page 289 and 290:
Conclusion Regional Segovian identi
Page 291 and 292:
production and marketing of organic
Page 293 and 294:
economic development programs. In t
Page 295 and 296:
capacity of their fellow farmers. T
Page 297 and 298:
encountered in trying to conserve r
Page 299 and 300:
Benjamin, Medea 1987 Don’t Be Afr
Page 301 and 302:
Enríquez, Laura J. 1991 Harvesting
Page 303 and 304:
Guido, Clemente 1989 Los Conservado
Page 305 and 306:
MAGFOR 2004 Estrategia para la reco
Page 307 and 308:
Redford, Kent H. and Allyn. M. Stea
Page 309 and 310:
Turner, Terence 1991 Representing,
Page 311 and 312:
Appendix EL SIGÜIENTE COMUNICADO R
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