Manioc mothers: Subsistence stability and the influence of tourism among the Napo Kichwas in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

摘要

The people of Sachayacu, an indigenous farming community in the Ecuadorian Oriente, continuously adjust to the fluctuating market economy. As it becomes too costly to transport their traditional crops like bananas and manioc to the markets, households planted coffee. As coffee prices dropped, households adopted cacao. During this research the economic endeavor for Sachayacu was tourism. This enterprise too came with unpredictability and unclear benefits. The one constant in this scenario of uncertainty was the important resources provided by women's subsistence gardens. The products from women's gardens provided a stable economic resource that was the foundation of each household and allowed for household exploration of market enterprises.Within Sachayacu there were variations in household economic strategies. Those households with increased market integration and greater economic wealth heavily influenced the decision-making process in the community. This was very apparent with the decision to introduce tourism into the community. The uncertainties and perceived inequalities the community associated with tourism resulted in social network breakdowns. Women were especially influenced by the introduction of tourism. Those women who participated in tourism no longer had time to keep "good" gardens. This factor led to increased dissatisfaction by men and women with the quality and quantity of their traditional activities (manioc gardens, household maintenance, social networking, etc.). Also those women who consistently did not participate in tourism were labeled killa (lazy), a very derogatory work-ethic stigma for Kichwas. As a result, women whether they participated in tourism or not, lost social status with this form of market integration.This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge addressing socio-cultural change in indigenous communities in relation to market-integration and socio-economic stratification with specific emphasis on gender affects. This has important implications for indigenous resource management decision-makers in this region and the wider international community interested in sustainable resource management and the preservation of cultural and biological diversity.