The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

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The cultural context of biodiversity conservation
In both communities the peasants further augment their diet with fishing. In San
Benito, which is located on the shores of the river Las Mulas, farmers seasonally trap
fish, crayfish and shrimps, which enrich their diet in animal protein. In Roq-há, there
are streams that provide the villagers with fish, but they also move to other more distant
communities to fish. Fishing is an activity realised mainly between February and
May when the water-level is low. Traditional techniques are applied such as nets to
gather shrimps and crayfish, but poisonous plants such as the liana *oxib' xuqut are
also used. Normally, fishing is an activity carried out by men or children; in San Benito,
the wife of an informant said that she also would engage in this activity. In general,
both hunting and fishing are considered by the peasants as rather sporadic and recreational
activities. As aforementioned, the production system of the Q'eqchi' is complemented
by animal husbandry on a rather modest scale. In most families, fairly sizable
numbers of up to twenty chickens (*kaxlan) are maintained for household consumption.
Turkeys, pigs and cattle are less frequently held.
Beyond the above outlined subsistence activities, many farmers engage in seasonal
wage labour on large fincas and coastal plantations. 32 Diminishing returns from farm
holdings lead many of them to turn to off-farm earning possibilities. Thus, in times
when the milpa requires less attention, they work outside their communities for extended
periods of up to four months. This additional income, like that earned through
the sale of cash crops and production surpluses, provides the families with capital
needed to purchase market commodities such as tools, clothes, medicine and foodstuffs
they do not produce themselves. 33 Moreover, all informants had to pay yearly
instalments for their plots and several farmers reported that they needed the extra
monetary income to finance the higher education of their children (500 Quetzales per
year). Talking about these issues, farmers often expressed their interest in measures to
increase on-farm opportunities by processing higher value products, but at the same
time pointed to the importance of subsistence needs. This implies that no household
is oriented exclusively either to subsistence or external market production. The peasants
always try to establish a balance between the two systems. They are willing to
adapt to market-oriented systems, given the condition that this is based on the milpa
farming techniques, which would allow them to remain in their community. In interviews,
the concern was frequently expressed that the forest environment had deteriorated
due to the extension of the cash crop cultivation. The farmers were clearly aware
of its potentially negative impacts. 34
32 According to the season, monthly incomes vary between 100 and 4000 Q. A month on a finca
yields around 800 Q.
33 In both communities several small shops exist where basic items for everyday use can be purchased.
For further items, peasants commonly travel to the next larger town of Ixcán (Playa Grande),
which can be reached by pick up or public bus.
34 Given the absence of an agrarian reform at the national level, it needs to be reminded that the
prime causes of forest destruction are not a result of over-intensive small-scale farming systems. On
the contrary, they are more structural in nature.