BIODIVERSITY AND MARGINALITY:

DILEMMA OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

by

MARICEL CASTILLO PINIERO

(Under the direction of Dr. Virginia D. Nazarea)

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of economic development on women and biodiversity in two rural communities in Ecuador. The level of women’s integration into the development process as influenced by age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, are analyzed. The effects of the economic change on biodiversity using homegardens as its indicators are also evaluated. The gradients of integration in politics, economy, and agricultural production are examined using life histories of three women from each of the two sites. Assessment of the development impact on women’s private and public spaces is examined, emphasizing how women are empowered or marginalized at various levels of integration. Using wealth ranking, women’s perceptions and indicators of wealth are explored. Women’s homegarden maps of three time periods were utilized to look into the changes of plant biodiversity. The results show that women prioritized food such as grains and vegetables mainly because of the deteriorating condition of the country’s economy. Comparison of women and researchers’ maps demonstrates that women emphasized features of homegardens that are salient in coping to their daily needs while researcher’s maps show the actual physical representation of plants cultivated in the homegardens. Women’s social networks are explored where links among women with kins and different groups illustrate the importance of informal networks in performing their responsibilities at home and in the community. The analysis shows that women rely heavily on their families and women friends for financial, social, and emotional support. Women’s time allocation is also investigated, underscoring that both ethnicity and economic status affect how women spend their time. Women from the indigenous community allocate the majority of their time in household chores including food preparation while mestizo women spend more time in agricultural activities and petty business. In terms of economic groups, high-income women allot more time in agricultural activities while low-income women spend more hours working as wage laborers. Middle-income women allocate most of their time engaging in petty-business. Drawing on the condition of middle-income women in the two communities, issues of marginality and empowerment in connection to border theory and borderlands are likewise evaluated where women’s space is viewed not just as marginal conditions but places where various negotiations take place.

INDEX WORDS: Economic Development, Biodiversity, Marginality, Women, Border Theory, Border Women, Social Networks, Homegardens, Ecuador BIODIVERSITY AND MARGINALITY:

DILEMMA OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

by

MARICEL CASTILLO PINIERO

B.S. Human Ecology, University of the Philippines, Philippines, 1990

A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ATHENS, GEORGIA

2002 ¤ 2002

Maricel Castillo Piniero

All Rights Reserved BIODIVERSITY AND MARGINALITY:

DILEMMA OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

by

MARICEL CASTILLO PINIERO

Approved:

Major Professor: Virginia D. Nazarea

Committee: Theodore Gragson Linda Grant Michael Olien Robert Rhoades

Electronic Version Approved:

Gordhan L. Patel Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2002 iv

DEDICATION

For my dad, Mr. Tirso Bulayan Piniero

and my mom, Mrs. Arsenia Castillo Piniero v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to the women of La Calera and Palmitopamba who willingly shared their time, stories, and lives with me. They were very hospitable, patient, understanding, friendly, and had an enormous sense of humor that made my fieldwork an unforgettable experience. The people and staff of Jambi Mascaric and UNORCAC, particularly

Maggie, Inez, Alfonso, and mami Berting and her family of Palmitopamba, who welcomed me in their lives and tried to understand my “street Spanish,” especially during the first few weeks of my field work; I am so grateful for all the help they gave me by accepting me into their families. I would not have finished my work without the help of our research assistants: Luz Dary, Estella, Sandra, Rosita, and Carlos. Their hard work,

“young attitude”, and friendship helped me tremendously in coping with the various problems that a researcher faces in a foreign country.

This research was funded by the Andean Project of the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM). I am very grateful to Dr. Robert

Rhoades who risked putting me into the Andean program after learning that I could not do it in my own country, the Philippines because of the lack of funds.

My deepest appreciation goes to my mentor, my major professor, Dr. Virginia D.

Nazarea whose support goes beyond a student-professor relationship. Without her friendship and guidance, I don’t think I would have made it to graduate school. Her shoulder was always there everytime I needed someone to cry on especially at times when I did not understand any of the anthropological theories that I read and heard in class. Her words of encouragement “Kaya mo yan, konting hakbang na lang andoon ka vi na” (You can do it, just a few more steps and you’ll get there) have always been a guiding light on my way. I appreciate the way she always pushed me to the edge that lead me to realize the things that I am capable of doing. The jokes, laughter, and tears that we have shared have made graduate school easier to handle. Lastly, her never ending patience in reading and re-reading this dissertation which I know caused her a lot of headaches and use of “white flower” ointment, is greatly acknowledged and appreciated.

Ma’am Ving, salamat ng marami.

I would like to thank my other committee members: Dr. Michael Olien, Dr.

Theodore Gragson, Dr. Linda Grant, and Dr. Robert Rhoades for their suggestions on how to improve this dissertation. I particularly want to thank Dr. Robert Rhoades who acted as my other mentor. He has given me not just the “academic” support but also acted as my moral booster who never failed to mention that I can do it especially at times when

I was almost ready to give up.

I am also indebted to those people who helped me in their own ways in writing this dissertation and in simply making my graduate life bearable. Ms. Charlotte Blume, for her unselfish support for graduate students. I will never forget the laughter that we have shared during lunch break. Edwin, Erla, Rebecca, Adam, and Chris for their friendship and for making me feel that there is another world besides the laboratory, library, and classroom. Gabriela, Eleanor, Mika and Eric for their friendship and for always being willing to read and edit my reports, papers, and presentations. My labmates,

Crystal and Katie, who always give a helping hand. Ching and Juana, for their thoughtfulness and moral support. vii

My brothers and sisters and their partners also helped me get through this stage of my life; Kuya Boyet and Ate Beng, Kuya Ne and Ate Em, Ate Gigi and Kuya Tino, Ate

Nonie and Kuya Boyet, Kuya Jojo and Ate Des, Bunso and Joey, I know in their thoughts, they are always praying for my safety and happiness. All my nephews and nieces have always been my inspiration because of their innocence and curiosity always brighten my day. I hope the determination that I show will guide them to follow their own dreams.

It was during my father’s wake when I received the news of my acceptance into the Anthropology program in Athens, Georgia. At that time, it was difficult for me to make the decision because my mother would be left alone if I decided to come. My mother, who has always been very supportive of my dreams, encouraged me to go and follow them. She also reminded me that my father would be very happy if I finish my

PhD.

Even though my father is no longer around to see what has become of me, I know he and my mom, are very proud and happy that I finally put an end to this chapter of my life. I am about to start the next chapter and I know my mom and dad (even if he’s not physically present) will be there to guide me. They will always be the source of my strength, my happiness, and the guiding force that will lead me to search for a better future. Mom and dad, I know you know how grateful I am for what you have sacrificed for us, your children. SALAMAT PO NG MARAMI! viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... v

LIST OF TABLES...... xi

LIST OF FIGURES ...... xii

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION...... 1

Statement of the Problem...... 1

Organization of Dissertation...... 6

Description of Research Sites ...... 8

Development Strategies in Ecuador...... 23

Research Methodology ...... 39

II. A LONG ROAD TO DEVELOPMENT: SOME THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES...... 47

Introduction...... 47

Theories and Approaches to Development...... 49

Development and Environment ...... 59

Biodiversity: An Eroding Resource...... 60

Women and Environment ...... 66

Women and Development...... 73

Women, Marginality: The Border Theory...... 80 ix

III. GRADIENT OF INTEGRATION: SIX WOMEN’S LIVES...... 84

Introduction...... 84

Women in La Calera ...... 90

Women in Palmitopamba...... 100

Various Recipes of Integration ...... 107

Economic Gradient ...... 114

Production Gradient...... 117

Development Projects: Women’s Perceptions and Attitude...... 120

Women’s Indicators of Wealth ...... 131

IV. WOMEN AND HOMEGARDENS: GENERATION, CLASS, AND ETHNICITY ...... 144

Introduction...... 144

Diversity and Integration: A Comparison of Indigenous and Mestizo homegardens ...... 147

Plants Classified: Plants Utilized...... 159

Homegarden Maps: Local Categories...... 166

Relative Salience: Culturally Significant Crops ...... 179

Changes in Inter- and Intra- Crop Diversity ...... 183

V. WOMEN AT THE BORDER: MARGINALITY AND EMPOWERMENT...... 186

Introduction...... 186

Social Structure Links and Networks ...... 190

Time: The Limiting Factor...... 197

The Decision Making at the Border...... 210 x

VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ...... 214

Toward a Recognition of Differences...... 214

Recommendations for Development...... 228

VII. REFERENCES...... 232

VIII. APPENDICES ...... 258

Appendix A- Researcher’s Homegarden Maps ...... 259

Appendix B- Women’s Homegarden Maps...... 283

Appendix C- Complete list of plants cultivated in homegardens ...... 303 xi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLES

1. Most Common Plants in La Calera Homegardens

2. Most Common Plants in Palmitopamba Homegardens

3. Complete List of Plants Cultivated in Homegardens in La Calera and Palmitopamba xii

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURES

1. Map pf Ecuador Showing the two Research sites: Palmitopamba and La Calera

2. Researcher’s map of an indigenous woman’s homegarden showing crop diversity

3. Researcher’s map of a mestizo homegarden planted with a variety of crops.

4. Researcher’s map of a mestizo homegarden planted with few plants and low diversity

5. Local Classification of plants by women in La Calera.

6. Local Classification of plants by women in Palmitopamba.

7. Crop representation by indigenous women.

8. Crop representation by mestizo women.

9. Crop representation by younger generation (daughters).

10. Crop representation by older generation (mothers)

11. Crop representation by oldest generation (grandmothers).

12. Crop representation by low-income group.

13. Crop representation by high-income group.

14. Crop representation by middle-income group.

15. Sample of homegarden map showing the incorporation of animal in the garden.

16. Sample of homegarden map showing the condition of the plants.

17. Example of a mestizo woman’s cultural representation of her social network. xiii

18. Example of an indigenous woman’s cultural representation of her social network

19. Time allocation of Women by Ethnicity.

20. Time allocation of Women by Economic groups CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem

Women’s integration into the development process can be categorized into three major phases. The first phase has more to do with the problem of silence and omission.

Women were ignored in the entire process of development (Basu 1995). During the post- colonial period, the focus of development approaches was more to do with

“modernizing” the traditional regions of the world. Dualistic views were emphasized including the modern versus traditional ways of living and the public versus private spheres. Women were perceived as traditional and mindless individuals who were preoccupied with their private or domestic responsibilities. Therefore, they were thought to be incapable of adopting the new scientific technologies introduced by the modernizing world (Chowdhry 1995; Rapley 1996). Men were trained and incorporated in the world economy with the goal of changing or modernizing the more traditional regions. In the process, women were totally omitted from the equation because they could not fit into any role prescribed by the development recipe.

The second wave of women’s integration into the development paradigm came about when some women scholars, notably Ester Boserup (1970) and other liberal feminists, questioned the way that development was formulated and implemented, particularly in the Third World. During this era, women’s invisibility in the development process was contested. It was pointed that womens work and contribution to the 2 country’s development was either ignored or devalued in the past (Harcourt 1994;

Chowdhry 1995). Institutions including the World Bank and various feminist development groups started to incorporate and institutionalize programs that would include women in the development agenda. A variety of approaches were implemented including the Basic Needs Approach, where the idea was to distribute the wealth and income equally to all. This approach emphasized social justice and improvement of social services such as education and health (Parpart and Marchand 1995). The Human

Development Approach aimed to enable people to participate actively in the development process and improve the quality of their lives. The primary focus of earlier approaches, however, was still toward economic growth and reinforced the idea of colonial hegemony where women especially in the developing countries, were portrayed as lacking the self- confidence needed for them to be trained, educated, and integrated into the masculinist modern world. (Moser 1993; Harcourt 1994). At least on the surface, women were given equal opportunities as men in terms of education, access to credit, technology, health and legal status (Tong 1989; Rathgeber 1995).

The Women-in-Development (WID) initiative was created in the early seventies with the aim of giving attention to programs and projects that would integrate women into the national economy (Tinker 1990). Activities in the international development agencies that linked or incorporated women in the development approach became prolific. The overarching concept of this transformation was that of integrating women into development without significantly changing the development strategy (Elson 1995).

However, the incorporation through women-centered or women-only projects amounted to welfare programs that only tried to address women’s responsibilities at home and at 3 the same time “harnessed” in their income-generating capability in the interest of large- scale development (Tinker 1990). Lyn Stephen further emphasized this point by stating that “Many women’s development projects have reproduced a biological version of gender which held that women did better in small-scale projects focused on domestically linked productive and reproductive activities and which did nothing to challenge most women’s subordinate position in the economy” (1997:8). Hence, instead of reevaluating and reformulating the overall development strategy, women were simply added into the recipe.

Third phase of women’s integration focuses on the critique of the “integrationist” approach and underlines women’s agency and the diversity of their circumstances.

Women scholars, particularly those coming from Third World countries, contest the assumption that women’s emancipation can be achieved using a singular strategy of incorporating them to the system which is predominantly patriarchal and capitalistic in the first place. These scholars question the generalizing approach of the development paradigm that ignores women’s history, socio-economic circumstances, and their capability to promote their own development using their own effort and initiatives. They also argue that women’s own perception of the kind of development direction that they want to pursue is totally ignored in the process. Often, it is not even recognized that women might have different perceptions about the development paradigm because they usually are mere recipients of development programs. The current literature emphasizes the disadvantages of women vis-a-vis men in the development process but does not adequately address how women from various age, class, and ethnic groups are affected by development in different ways. Some women might be “benefiting” while others 4 become more marginalized in the process. This dissertation tries to focus on these issues particularly addressing the impact of various types of development on women across age, ethnic background, and class and explores how different degrees of integration into the development process affect their roles in the conservation of biodiversity.

Despite more enlightened strategies of integration, development continues to impact many Third World regions and people in negative and unsustainable ways. In this context, marginalization of women and environmental degradation have been identified as two major problems associated with the development process. Contrary to conventional economic development approaches that are constructed in “gender blind” ways, where differences between men and women are denied, this dissertation dissects various dimensions of marginality as a result of the prevailing economic strategy (Tong

1989). Moreover, while it is true that development has unilaterally marginalized individuals, particularly women, in many regions of the world, the present research examines how each of these individuals is influenced and affected by different realities that are filtered through particular socioeconomic and historical circumstances. Some of these women at the margins might have the ability to negotiate their social, political, economic, and psychological boundaries in order to cope with the changing power relations created by an economic system in transition (Anzuldua 1987).

Similarly, the process of development affects the natural environment in different ways. According to Escobar (1995), development can only be achieved when the poor of the less economically accomplished nations of the world are elevated to a higher status.

More often than not, development is achieved by replicating what the countries of the

North have done by way of “advancing” their societies. Being “advanced” or 5

“developed” means that a country should have the following characteristics: high levels of industrialization and urbanization, rapid growth of material production and living standards, widespread adoption of modern education and cultural values, and technicalization of agriculture (Escobar 1995). Third World governments have designed economic plans that encouraged the proliferation of capitalism and industrialization which consequently, have resulted in drastic environmental changes. Technologies developed for commercial agriculture have affected the quality of water (chemicals washed from the fields), the soil (acidity, erosion, and sedimentation), and the air

(pollution brought about by the application of pesticides). In addition, diversity of food crops has decreased as the monoculture of high-value crops increasingly has come to dominate farming systems.

This dissertation, analyzes the changing role of Ecuadorian women in the conservation of biodiversity, particularly of food crops. My central thesis illuminates the changes associated with women’s contribution to the maintenance of biodiversity in homegardens, considered good repositories of subsistence crops, as women are increasingly incorporated into the development process. My main argument is that as women become more integrated into development programs, they are paradoxically placed in a more peripheral space where both their public and private responsibilities are magnified and become more complex, severely constraining their role in the conservation of biodiversity. 6

Organization of the Dissertation

The following sections in this chapter provide the important local and national context for the analysis of the impact of development on local women and biodiversity of crops. The two ethnographic sites, Palmitopamba and La Calera in parroquias of

Nanegal and Cotacachi, respectively, provide local contexts of the north Ecuadorian development. Comparative variables are discussed in relation to the two research sites.

Since the significance of the particularities of each region become more evident when placed within a national historical context, this chapter additionally provides a brief overview of the economic development strategies implemented in Ecuador since the period of the Incas through the present. It summarizes problems and issues related to development approaches implemented in Ecuador ranging from import substitution and monetary devaluation and culminating in environmental degradation.

Chapter 2 has five subsections beginning with a more detailed discussion of my research problem. The first subsection emphasizes different theoretical approaches to the implementation of development by Third World countries, including Ecuador. The second highlights the impact of development on the natural environment. The third subsection underscores the close relationship women maintain with the biophysical environment and emphasizes in particular their utilization of plants. The fourth subsection describes the integration of women in development and its influence on women’s roles in the household and the community. My discussion on marginality and border theory constitutes the final subsection.

Chapter 3 presents detailed information on three women in each of the two villages who are affected by the development process at different levels. The life history 7 of each woman is presented, emphasizing changes in occupations, and social status, along with transformations that she has observed in her community. The analysis stresses how each woman is integrated or not integrated into the development process, how each is affected by integration, how she acts upon these changes in terms of her personal identity and aspirations, and what she has in common with the other five. Further, wealth ranking is used in this chapter to assess individual wealth and explain how women see themselves in relation to their economic position.

In Chapter 4, the homegarden is used as an indicator through which changes in biodiversity can be observed. Local classification of plants, the women’s knowledge of plant varieties, as well as the functions and uses of homegardens in the families are described in this chapter. The connection between socioeconomic status and changes in the diversity of cultivated crops is explained using garden maps as these evolve with women’s economic condition and degree of integration.

My framework of marginality, empowerment, and border theory is explored more fully in Chapter 5. Social network analysis is used in my discussion of women’s position in the households and the community. A comparison of the decision-making process in their daily activities is also presented. All these variables are linked with development and to illustrate how its processes affect women’s circumstances, particularly the negotiation of their marginality.

Chapter 6 summarizes significant findings of my research particularly emphasizing patterns and trends that I observed among women in the two research sites.

Issues pertaining to changes brought about by economic development are highlighted, as well as women’s analyses and perceptions of this transformation. Using the results of this 8 study, my own recommendations on how development should be formulated and implemented in the Third World in general and women in particular are also incorporated in this chapter.

Description of Research Sites

Bounded on the north by Colombia, on the east and south by Peru and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Ecuador has a total land area of 283, 560 square kilometers with a total population of 12.2 million as of 1997 (Spindler 1987; Handelsman 2000). Four centuries of colonization and development in Ecuador have culminated in a “boom-bust” economy in a country dependent on exports and imports. The effects of this long history have, of course, not been uniform since governmental agencies as well as non- governmental organizations have played significant roles sporadically in some regions of the country. Secondly, areas of Ecuador vary in the extent to which they are integrated into the regional economy.

The country has three major regions: the costa (coast) located between the Pacific ocean and the Andes, the sierra (composed of two major mountain ranges), and the oriente (consisting of the Andean piedmont and eastern lowland). A number of ethnic groups have settled in different parts of the nation. The population consists of

"Afroecuadorians" of African descent (5 percent), lowland and highland Indians

(Indigenas) (40 percent), Mestizos (mixed indigenous-Caucasian) (40 percent),

Caucasian and others (15 percent). In the past, a majority of indigenous people lived in the Sierra while the Mestizos settled in the coastal area. However, because of the 9

increasing urban migration, ethnic groups are now equally divided between the

mountainous central highland and the coastal region (Conaghan 1988).

My comparative research was conducted in two Ecuadorian villages – La Calera

and Palmitopamba -- chosen for their marked differences in ethnicity, economic situation,

and integration to development. The variations in the internal and external influences

between the two study areas are hypothesized to be associated with significant

differences in how people are integrated – or perceive to be integrated -- in the

development process. Significantly, the two regions also represent distinct ethnic and

class diversity, which might have a bearing on the way in which development projects

have been and are currently implemented. The distinct survival strategies of individual

women are also likely to vary, at least to some extent, along generational, economic, and

ethnic lines. The following section presents basic ethnographic descriptions of my study

areas and examines changes that took place in two communities in Ecuador in relation to

government projects and changes in land use.

Cotacachi

Cotacachi is a canton in the province of Imbabura located in the northern highlands of Ecuador (see Figure 1). However, it is also the name of a town within the canton. “Cotacachi”, in Quichua, means to grind (“cota”) and to work with salt

(“cachi”). The canton, that I will describe in the rest of this section, is bounded on the north by Canton Urcuqi and Esmeralda Province, on the south by Canton Otavalo and the province of Pichincha, and on the east by canton Antonio Ante. Canton Cotacachi occupies an area of 1,809 kilometers, representing almost 20 percent of the total land area 10

of Imbabura. As of 1990, its total population was 33, 250 (Cotacachi Development Plan

1990). San Francisco and El Sagrario, the two urban parishes or parroquias located within Canton Cotacachi contain a total population of approximately 11,464. The canton also has eight rural parroquias: Quiroga with 4,815 inhabitants, Imantag with 3,922,

Apuela with 2,397, Garcia Moreno with 4,381, Penaherrera with 2,666, Plaza Gutierrez with 684, Seis de Julio Cuellaje with 1,792, and Vacas Galindo with a population of

1,150 (data as of 1990 census). In 1990, almost 82 percent of the population of Cotacachi lived in rural areas. Its diverse ethnic groups include Mestizos, Morenos/ Negros, and

Indigenas.

The canton is quite varied in topography and climate. The altitude ranges from

200 meters above sea level (masl) to 4,939 masl. The temperature fluctuates from 10 to

20 degrees centigrade, depending on the season and the altitude. Cotacachi’s tropical regions include Intag at an elevation of 1000 -1500 masl and average temperatures of 25 centigrade or higher. The subtropical region is situated at an altitude of 1500-2000 masl and includes Apuela, Penaherrera, and Plaza Gutierrez, with temperatures ranging from

10 to 16 degrees centigrade. At an altitude of 2000 - 3000 masl, temperatures in the temperate zone fluctuate from 9 to 15 degrees centigrade (Alberja 1962). Variations in temperature, rainfall, elevation, and soil type compose distinct agroecological regions, each with its unique flora and fauna.

Within the various agroecological zones, Cotacachi has a total of 64,196 hectares of land suitable for agriculture. Most of this land is located in the Imantag and Intag regions. Small to medium-scale agricultural production also can be found in other areas.

Most of the Morenos (Afro-ecuadorian) live at the lower elevations while large 11

Figure 1. Map of Ecuador showing the two research sites: Palmitopamba and La Calera 12

percentage of Indigena (Indigenous) settlements are located at higher elevations, often on steep gradients. Mestizos or blancos (whites) tend to concentrate in towns and on flat, fertile land.

Cultivated crops include corn (Zea mays), beans (Phasoelus valgaris), peas

(Pisum sativum), wheat (Triticum vulgau), barley (Hordeum vulgau), quinua

(Chenopodium quinoa), potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), as well as different types of

vegetables (onion, cabbage, carrots) and Andean tubers like melloco (Ullucus tuberosus)

and oca (Oxalis tuberosus). Corn is the most common crop cultivated by farmers and is

usually inter-cropped with beans. Most of the produce grown by small-scale farmers is

consumed at home with my field experience suggesting that only about 5-10 percent of

the total produce is sold in the community market. For medium-scale farmers, 40-50

percent of the produce goes to market in the nearby areas such as Otavalo where they can

get a better price. Farmers who own large parcels of land--traditionally known as

haciendas—which are usually located in Imantag, sell almost 70-75 percent of their

produce outside the region (e.g., Quito, Esmeraldas), usually through middlemen.

Recently, large-scale fruit and flower production expanded in the Cotacachi region, most

of which is trucked to the larger cities of Quito and Ibarra. However, some of the large

landowners recently have begun to export their products to Japan and the Netherlands.

Cattle raising is major source of income for some people in the region. Cattle are

used for milk and meat production and as draft animals on the farms. Cattle skins and

those of other animals are processed to produce various leather products, including

jackets, bags, shoes, and furniture. A large number of leather shops in the town center are

famous all over the country and the world for its craftsmanship. Other handicrafts such 13 as hats, souvenir items, and body ornaments, are also sold at the center, mostly made by women who live in different communities.

The educational system in Cotacachi is administered by the national government and a few privately owned institutions are dedicated to vocational courses. The

Immaculate Conception is dedicated to training women in handicraft and the Eloy Proano

School provides secondary education. Data from Imbabura Province Ministry of

Education show that out of the 129 Cotacachi schools, 8.52 percent are preparatory schools, 84.49 percent are primary schools and 6.69 percent provide secondary education

(Plan de Desarrolo 1997). Out of 446 teachers in these schools, 85.42 percent have

Education degrees, 12.12 percent have other professional backgrounds, and the remaining .44 percent did not complete college education. Although not used as the official language of instruction, Quechua is also being used along with Spanish in teaching, especially at the preparatory level.

Cotacachi has 16l health centers including both public and private clinics, according to 1994 survey. Cotacachi is served by 5.4 percent of medical doctors, 2.6 percent of nurses, and 2.6 percent of dentists in the province of Imbabura. The Ministry of Education survey indicates that the causes of mortality include abdominal pain (7 out of 1000 patients), pneumonia (6 out of 1000), and heart disease (5.4 /1000) (data as of

1994) (Plan de Desarrollo, Cotacachi 1998-2000). Illnesses associated with poverty including malnutrition and tuberculosis, also are major health problems in Cotacachi. 14

Endowed with rich natural resources, this canton is part of the Reserva Ecologica

Cotacachi-Cayapas1 created in 1968 and considered one of the world’s 25 biodiversity

“hotspot” (Rhoades 2001). The reserve has various natural resource features including a number of lakes (Cuicocha , Pinan/Donoso, Cristococha, and Susacocha), all located in

the region of Pinan, and a variety of mountains, including Cotacachi and Yanahura.

Different species of animals, birds, and plants are found in Intag, the tropical region of

Cotacachi. Intag has botanical gardens and parks and is known for its thermal energy

resources (e.g. Yanayacu pool). The canton has museums dedicated to art, music and

regional history. Various festivities celebrated locally include “Semana Santa” (Holy

Week) and Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun).

The government of Cotacachi currently functions under the leadership of an

elected Mayor (alcalde) Auki Tituana, a member of the indigenous population who

recently initiated a variety of economic development and conservation strategies. His

administration’s focus is on moving from the traditional mode of paternalistic and

centralized government toward the participation of multi-ethnic groups in the

development process. Part of the administration’s approach is to provide technical

support for locals through various training sessions/workshops (capacitaciones) dealing with issues such as the participatory approach, the environment and organizational arrangement that emphasizes the roles of all stakeholders (from the mayor to the ordinary youth) in the implementation of development projects. Through the support of various organizations, especially Union de Organizaciones de Campesinas de Cotacachi

11 The reserve is a protected area composed of 204,420 hectares. The area is very important for Ecuador and for the world for its genetic diversity (Hifstede et.al 1998; Rhoades 2001) 15

(UNORCAC) and Jambi Mascaric (a sister organization), various capacity training sessions are held in different communities. Topics ranged from health (both western and traditional medicine), reforestation, legal land issues, bilingual education, and agro- tourism, to basic leadership training. Aside from uplifting the condition of the people via social networks and collaborations, the government of Cotacachi also has developed infrastructure projects that support its social objectives. These include the construction of roads from some rural areas to the urban center to expedite delivery of agricultural products and facilitate tourism. More schools and health clinics have been constructed to extend better education and health services to the local people.

The community of La Calera, my particular research site in the canton of

Cotacachi, is two kilometers from the Cotacachi center in the parish of San Francisco. Its approximately 250 households include 1,250 inhabitants (Yepez 1999). Approximately

150 inhabitants of them are under age five, 200 between the ages of 5 to14, and 900 who are 15 or older. The main crops cultivated in the area are corn, potatoes, peas, and beans.

A few people cultivate vegetables such as cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, and carrots.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), a grass primarily used as animal feed (specifically for guinea pigs that they raise as a food source), is becoming an important crop in the area as well.

Some families raise cows, pigs, and chickens. Guinea pigs are usually consumed at home for special occasions or given as gifts while cows are used for milking and as draft animals. Only a few families have chickens and pigs, which are usually sold for cash or used for special occasions and rituals such as baptisms or wedding ceremonies.

No large stores are located in La Calera, possibly because the area is 10 minutes by bus, and 30-45 minutes by foot, from Cotacachi, where stores fulfill all the local 16 shopping needs. Small stores in the area usually sell basic items such as salt, sugar, soap, sodas, and some snack items. Some stores also sell vegetables and staples such as rice and corn. Major purchasing, however, is done on Sundays, Cotacachi’s market day.

The quality of housing varies from family to family, depending on their economic situation. Families that are considered wealthy usually have two-story concrete houses with appliances and furniture. Middle-income families have smaller concrete houses and own fewer and less expensive appliances and furniture. Poor families may or may not have concrete houses with fewer rooms, furnished only with basic items such as beds and chairs. The very poor families have one-room houses made of adobe and pieces of wood or bamboo with little or no furniture.

Two families in La Calera own factories for making hammocks and indigenous clothes and sell the products in Otavalo markets. One family exports locally-made clothes to other countries. Many women in the village make women’s traditional blouses for another source of income. Almost every woman in the La Calera community knows how to sew clothes, pieces of which can be sold for 80,000-180,000 sucres ($ 4-10 in

1999), depending on the intricacy of the work. Although pieces such as hand- embroidered blouses do not sell immediately because of their price, a sale always adds a significant amount of money to the family’s income.

The only school in the community is a pre-school. Elementary students attend school in Quiroga, the closest community to La Calera. High school students must commute to Cotacachi or Otavalo. Farming is the primary means of livelihood in the village, although some people also raise livestock and make handicrafts. Many men leave the community to work in the city or in other countries selling Ecuadorian products while 17

others work as laborers or construction workers in nearby towns. The out-migration of

men is very common in the whole parish. As shown by Flora’s study (1998), 71 percent

of the people who migrate are men, while only 43 percent are women.

Birthdays, baptisms, weddings, and first communions are usually celebrated with

a dance and fiesta (festivity) where fried pork, boiled potatoes, toasted corn, and sometimes guinea pig are served. A fermented drink derived from corn (locally known as chicha), and cane liquor (trago), are common drinks during such festivities. The

villagers spend large amounts of money to buy food and liquor for such events,

sometimes even borrowing money from friends and relatives to fund the celebration.

Godparents are expected to buy gifts for their godchildren.

During ordinary days, the village is peaceful or, in their words, “tranquilo”. At

5:00 a.m., most mothers are already awake cooking breakfast and preparing their children

for school. The high school students have to leave home quite early to walk to Cotacachi

in order to catch a bus to Otavalo. Some of the daily chores vary, depending on the time

of the year. During planting and harvesting seasons, all family members get involved

unless the family has enough money to hire laborers. Farm work usually starts early,

around 7:00 a.m., and breaks only at lunch time. The woman whose family’s field is

being planted or harvested is required to rise early to prepare coffee for the people

working on the land and returns home early to prepare lunch for everyone as well. Lunch

usually consists of toasted corn, boiled potato and a hot pepper salsa called “aji”. If the

family has extra money, fried pork is added as a main dish.

Two types of working arrangements exist on the farms, one less prevalent than

the other. The minga is a traditional form of labor exchange more commonly done in the 18

past than in the present. It is the joining together of people who voluntarily work to

accomplish certain objective (Blumberg and Colyer 1990). During a minga in La Calera,

neighbors help one another during the times of planting and harvesting. When a family

needs help, other families are called on to plant or harvest their field, and the family

helped will reciprocate in kind later on. Sometimes the produce is also shared with

families that participated in the cooperative labor. The type of work arrangement that is

more common today however, is the hiring of wage laborers. Wages generally range

from 20,000-30,000 sucres (approximately $2.00) per person per day. Lunch is included

in the package.

Nanegal2

The parish of Nanegal is located in northwestern Ecuador and is part of Canton

Quito of Pichincha Province (see Figure 1). The altitude in the canton ranges from 800-

1500 meters above sea level with an annual rainfall distribution of 2000 mm. The

temperature varies across the region, but the mean annual temperature is 18 degrees

centigrade (Peñafiel et al. 2001). The five communities belonging to the Nanegal parish

include: Chacapata, Palmito Pamba, Playa Rica, Marianita, and La Perla.

Historically, the area of Nanegal has been considered as marginal primarily

because it was part of an expansion of the agricultural frontier (Flora et al. 2001). After

the decline of the banana industry in the late 1970s, urban working class people who

2 This community was an area of intensive investigation by Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (SANREM) the results of which are published in a book entitled “Bridging Human and Ecological Landscapes: Participatory Research and Sustainable Development in an Andean Agricultural Frontier. 19 were unable to buy land or find other jobs in the urban center moved to more remote parts of Quito, including Nanegal. The three major reasons why the Nanegal region was colonized include an increase in the value of land, changing land use that required manual labor, and road construction that connected the parish to major centers of commerce and industry (Flora et al. 2001).

Based on the 1990 government census, the total population of Nanegal is 2,948

(Rhoades, Martinez, and Jones 2001). Males constitute 54.27 percent of the population and the remaining 45.73 percent are females. The majority of the residents in this parish are in the age range 5-14. According to a study by Rhoades et al. (2001), 60 percent of the present day population is composed of migrants arriving in Nanegal from other areas in the same province (e.g., Pichincha) or from areas within the neighboring province of

Imbabura (15.6 percent). Only a few residents arrived from more distant areas such as

Loja (3.5 percent) and Carchi (5.9 percent). The study also shows that factors influencing people’s decision to migrate include various structural and individual issues such as personal reasons, influence of the family, the search for work and land, poverty, and education. Most of the inhabitants in the area are small and large-scale farmers and/or cattle raisers and plantation laborers. Few families engage in store keeping, and large numbers of youth migrate to urban areas (e.g., Quito), where they are only qualified to work at odd jobs as housekeepers.

Sugarcane, the major crop cultivated in the area, is processed as cane liquor

(aguardiente) and raw brown sugar (panela). Processing adds considerable value to the raw materials (raw sugar cane for example, costs 20 cents per stalk, while a liter of cane 20

liquor costs $1.00). Approximately two stalks of sugar cane are needed to process a liter of liquor. Furthermore, processing sugar cane requires only a minimal capital investment to purchase distilling equipment and containers for the juice (Flora et al.

2001). According to Valarezo (2001), sugarcane plantations were first established during the Spanish period in the 16th century, when the hacienda system was introduced to the area. When the Spaniards took over sugarcane plantations and refineries, production was difficult due to lack of manpower for the refineries and lack of roads for transporting the products.

Aside from sugarcane, other crops cultivated in the area for market and for home consumption include bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, Chinese taro, taro, corn, and beans. Various tree species (both fruit and wood) and different types of medicinal plants (herbs or grasses) are abundant in the region. Prior to the 1950s, the majority of the products (excluding sugarcane) were consumed at home because of lack of roads and means of transportation. When a road was constructed in the late 1950s, some agricultural products were brought to major commercial centers in Quito and nearby provinces (Guerrero et al. 1996).

Allocation of certain portions of land for pasture has been an important practice in

Nanegal area since the pre-colonial period, according to Penaherrera (2001). Presently,

26 percent of the total land area in Nanegal is devoted to pasture. While cattle is also used as draft animals, the more wealthy farmers use tractors for land preparation. Mules are used in transporting sugarcane to the processing areas.

Palmitopamba, my research site in Nanegal, has a total land area of 1,745 hectares. Founded in 1961, this is the oldest settled community in the zone of Nanegal. 21

Its total population is 449 of which 243 are males and 206 are females. Thirty-eight percent of the population is between the ages of 5-14. The major crop, sugar cane, is planted by almost 33 percent of the households in Palmitopamba (SANREM/HPI 1996 survey). Sugarcane occupies 258.5 hectares--72 percent of the total cultivated land in the community. Bananas (22 percent) and cassava (20 percent), are the next two most frequently planted crops. Other crops cultivated include taro, corn, tomatoes, carrots, beans, and sweet potatoes. Some fruit and wood trees also are maintained in the area.

The majority of crops cultivated in homegardens are consumed at home while 100 percent of the sugarcane is processed and sold to large sugarcane refineries.

A single school in the community employs four teachers for approximately 195 students. One teacher handles grades 1 and 2. A second takes care of grades 3 and 4 and a third handles grades 5 and 6. The directress of the school also teaches classes. Students who want to continue their education through high school have to travel to the nearby parroquia (parish) of Nanegal, or to Quito. A public health center also is available. A doctor from Quito comes to Palmitopamba every Wednesday night and provides free consultation all day Thursday and a half-day on Friday at the public health center before returning to Quito. He treats patients from Palmitopamba as well as from other nearby villages. The medicine is free for patients who are members of the social security system managed by the government. A dentist from Quito also makes weekly visits to provide dental treatment.

A small gasoline station and three stores in the community are somewhat larger than those run out of people’s homes. All the stores are located near the football field that serves as the center of activities in the Palmitopamba community. The public telephone is 22 located at one of the stores and another nearby store rents videos and sells groceries and kitchen utensils. The third store mainly specializes in items that are hard to find in other locations in Palmitopamba. One house has been converted into a clothing store. Prices are generally higher in Palmito stores compared to those in the city (e.g., a $ 10.00 blouse in Quito sells for $12.00 in Palmitopamba), but people can purchase the items locally through regular installments and save themselves the round-trip bus fare to the city ($

2.00).

Twenty-nine percent of families in Palmitopamba own no land (SANREM/HPI survey 1996), and 27 percent own a piece of land less than 1000 meters in size. Ten percent have more than 40 hectares, some of which is located outside the village. The remaining 34 percent own some land, ranging from one to 35 hectares per family. Some five or six sugar cane processing plants (data as of 1999, personal interviews) produce liquor and raw brown sugar. Market demand primarily determines the type of processed output of these factories. When the price of liquor is high, as it is during the months of

June to December, most of the local plants will concentrate on making liquor. However, if the price decreases (often from January to May), the same owners are likely to shift production to making brown sugar. One family in town concentrates exclusively on making cane liquor because making raw brown sugar requires more laborers than are available. Many families have built their factories behind their houses and only hire a few workers.

Daily life is simple and people follow regular daily activity patterns. For example many family members get up early each morning to travel to their respective farms or to work as hired laborers on other people’s land. Mothers usually go to the homegardens or 23

travel to the farm to harvest cassava, a staple food in this village3 and prepare it for breakfast. Breakfast and dinner are usually based on cassava or potato soup. Some family members go to Quito to purchase items unavailable in the local stores or to visit their children studying there. Sundays, however, are treated as a day of rest. If there is a football (soccer) game, almost everyone in the village heads to Nanegal (the center of the parish) to cheer its team.

Development Strategies in Ecuador

The stages of development strategies implemented in Ecuador on a national level

provide an important background for the complexity of the effect of development on

women and on biodiversity in my two study regions in Ecuador. The following

discussion places in context the criticisms of some theorists (Braidotti 1991; Mohanty

1992; Escobar 1995), who suggest that the development process “contributed [more] to

the growth of poverty, to an increase in economic and gender inequalities and to the

degradation of the environment that further diminishes the means of livelihood of poor

people, particularly women” than to any meaningful measure of progress (Braidotti

1994:1). Most of these unfavorable effects of development have been ignored in the

whole development agenda since the primary focus has always been on economic growth

(as measured by the increase of Gross National Product). Hence, instead of improving the

quality of life of the people, development has tended to aggravate the present conditions

and lead to even sharper contrast between countries from the Global North (Western

European countries,

3 Presently, consumption of cassava has declined because of the drop in the overall production on the land. 24

the United States of America, and Canada) and the Global South (most Asian countries,

except Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, Latin American, and African countries,

excluding South Africa).

In developing countries of the global South, government support programs,

especially agricultural incentives, tend to be geared toward the most powerful groups,

either in relation to gender or to economic position. This further marginalizes women in

production systems as men continue to exercise greater control over resources and

technologies. Economic programs currently adopted by Third World countries are geared

toward a market economy that excludes “women-centered production systems” based on

local knowledge of traditional crops (Elisa Buenaventura-Posso and Susan Brown 1980;

Mies 1993; Sachs 1996).

Ecuador Before the Second World War

Inca Period

Even before the Spaniards conquered Ecuador, it had an advanced society

influenced by the Incan conquest and colonization that started around 1490 under the

leadership of Huayna Capac. This period is referred to as the pre-colonial period by

Ecuadorian historians (Chislette 1994). The Incan expansion was divided into two

phases: military and cultural. The former was responsible for the construction of roads,

public buildings, and storehouses while the latter expanded agricultural production,

including livestock raising. Llamas, especially became very important in fiber production

and were used as sacrificial animals (Newson 1995). Along with the Incan conquest

Many people complain that soil is no longer as productive as it was in the past. 25

came the introduction of peacetime ways of making a living. These included masonry,

irrigation systems, and new food plants such as sweet potatoes, manioc, peanuts and oca

(Oxalis tuberosa) (Spindler 1987; Newson 1995).

The Incan’ expansion by the middle of the15th century significantly eradicated languages used by Ecuador’s original settlers. The pre-Inca language was replaced by

Quichua, which is still widely spoken in the country today (Flora 1998).

Spanish Period

By 1533, the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Ecuador and began making important judicial, social, political, ecclesiastical, and economic changes. Although

Spanish became the official language and was used in the implementation of new laws, many of the indigenous people retained Quichua as their first language (Flora 1998).

Catholicism replaced the animistic, or “pagan,” belief system, and Quito became one of the major centers of Catholicism in Latin America (Handelsman 2000). Needless to say, the church became very influential in the institutional development of Ecuador during this period.

The mining of gold and silver and their exportation dominated the economy during the 16th century. Textile (e.g., wool) exportation also rose in economic importance during the early colonial period (Whitaker and Greene 1990). In the 17th and

18th centuries, the encomienda system became the common form of colonization and

slavery. Spanish settlers were granted land--along with its people and resources-- and it

became their responsibility to defend, secure taxes from the local population, and convert

the natives to Christianity (Olien 1973). Native people who were not part of the 26

encomienda became laborers in constructing churches, roads, public buildings, and textile mills. The economy in the Sierra region was still based on agriculture and textiles.

Cotton produced on the eastern slopes and wool provided raw materials for textiles. The coastal economy was based more on shipping and trade. Textiles produced in the Sierra and hardwoods and cacao from the coast were exported to Spain and other countries.

By the beginning of 19th century, agriculture dominated the Ecuadorian economy,

supplemented by livestock raising. Cereals and tubers were the major crops raised in the

Sierra region, while tobacco, cacao, coffee, sugar cane, and trees for lumber were grown

in the coastal region. Coffee, tobacco and bananas were the major crops during the late

19th century up to the early 20th century. Banana continue to be the principal export crop

of the country at the present time (Whitaker and Greene 1990). Indigenous people were

forced to work in agriculture, as well as in the mines, and in textile sweatshops (Crain

1990). Ethnic and class differences were also apparent, with Mestizos considered the

superior group and the indigenous people were seen as the inferior “ignorant” population.

Political instability characterized years that followed the country’s 1822

independence from Spain until the early part of the 20th century. The first public

officials who became in charge of the country did not change the system of feudalism and

was even aggravated by military dictatorship that they practiced. This resulted in various

political oppositions that tried to put forward liberal ideologies and eradicate military

ruling (Linke 1960; Spindler 1987). Other leaders that followed attempted to liberalize

the political system through a democratic approach of choosing public officials,

separating the church and the state, liberating any thought or worship, and secularizing 27

government education. The majority of them led the country with violent character,

resulting to social instability. Nonetheless, this era also expanded the country’s economy.

The political economy during the first 20 years of the post-Spanish period was

based on the exportation of agricultural products, primarily cacao. Cacao alone

contributed three-fourths of the country’s total exports and met one-third to one-half of

the world’s demand (Pineo 1996, Conaghan 1988). The Ecuadorian government also

focused on improving commerce and industry, including mineral extraction. This

approach was supported by the development of new infrastructure, foreign investment,

and technical education programs and activities (Whitaker and Greene 1990; Handelsman

2000). Export activities were intensified in the lowland, particularly in the coastal region

while cultivation of traditional agricultural products-- mainly for domestic consumption

and local markets--was concentrated in the highlands. By the early 1920's, the cacao

industry began to decline because of competition from other countries specially Africa.

Plant diseases including monilla in 1917 and witchbroom disease in 1923 also contributed to the decline of the cacao industry in Ecuador.

Around the early 1900, the government tried to protect the country’s industry by enacting laws (e.g., Law of Industrial Protection) that exempted industries utilizing local raw materials from taxes, supported by a policy of monetary devaluation (Hidrobo 1992).

These laws and policies enabled local industries to compete in the international market but did not alleviate the worsening economic condition of the nation. The problem was aggravated by the devaluation of the sucre (the Ecuadorian currency) elevating the crisis to a national problem (Conaghan 1988). Nonetheless, the economic problem that plagued the cacao industry paved the way for other crops to flourish, especially those 28 coming from the Sierra region. The price of goods produced in the highlands thus increased, stimulating production over the years (Hidrobo 1992). The development of the cacao industry had a limited impact for the less privileged social and ethnic groups as those engaged in exporting or financing the cacao plantations while the latter were positively affected by the booming industry, the rest of the nation continued to experience poverty.

In the Sierra region, the indigenous population, comprised mainly of campesinos or male landless peasants on large haciendas (a large agricultural and livestock estate).

At that time, haciendas operated on a pre-capitalist production system, focusing on farming and textile for an internal market. Considered integrated units within a regional market, the haciendas functioned and expanded through buying more land from the local population and more importantly through discouraging landowners to compete with one another. Each hacienda owner or hacendado had his own region to pacify (Olien 1973;

Morner 1985). The haciendas were maintained through the employment of local campesinos to work as cheap labor on the land while the women served as domestic servants. The campesinos in turn were given small plots on which to cultivate certain crops (Pineo 1996). Functioning as a patron, the hacendado supplied food, clothing, animals, and cash to their campesinos. Eventually, the hacienda system reduced indigenous people to the status of clients at the mercy of the landowners to such an extent that even spouse selection and the naming of their children were done by hacendados.

During the 1930s, the significant migration of peasants to the coast, rapid urbanization, and the intensifying conflict between hacendados and indigenous people made profits and production difficult on the haciendas. Because of the many abuses (e.g., 29 women forced into sexual servitude, wages withheld) at the hands of landowners, foremen, and local police, campesinos rebelled against the hacienda system, demanding the protection of their legal rights and improvement of their working conditions. The campesinos argued that Ecuadorian land became productive only because of their hard work and that indigenous people were the "real producers" of agricultural income (Clark

1998). The campesinos invaded hacienda land and pastured large herds of their livestock on it resulting in lowered production on the haciendas. At the same time, they maintained small plots of land that produced a fair amount of agricultural products for the local market (Clark 1998; Whitaker and Colyer 1990).

Ecuador After the Second World War

While market expansion, modernization of agriculture, and urbanization accelerated in most developing countries after World War II, Ecuador had already begun its international trade prior to the war. Beginning with the cacao exportation in the late

19th century to the early part of the 20th century, the country had become dependent on agricultural exportation of plantation crops. By the end of the 1940s, coffee and bananas became Ecuador’s major export crops (Hidrobo 1992; Pineo 1996; Handelsman 2000).

The expansion and exportation of bananas was fostered by multinational corporations, including United Fruit Company, after banana production in Central

America was severely affected by labor unrest and plant disease (Conaghan 1988). The

Ecuadorian government encouraged this approach by extending the donation of financial support to local farmers in the form of credit incentives and construction of roads. The latter was mainly financed by the United States government and international lending 30 agencies through bilateral credit arrangements (Conaghan 1988). Unlike the cacao industry, banana production extended beyond large private land holdings in coastal areas to other parts of the coastal region. The expansion was made possible because credit was provided to small and medium farmers and landowners as well as large-scale farmers and landowners (Hidrobo 1992).

Banana production flourished for more than 20 years (1949-1971), with 1952 considered to be the year Ecuador became the primier banana exporter in the world. As a consequence of the expanding banana industry and the increased demand for labor, the coastal region experienced rapid population growth. The increasing demand for coffee at the international level caused farmers from rural areas to begin coffee production. By the

1970s, nine percent of the rural population was involved in the production of coffee

(Hidrobo 1992). When the banana industry in Ecuador began to face competitive export industries throughout Asia, Africa, and Central America in 1970, its production started to decline. The urbanization and modernization processes accelerated as the majority of the people who previously worked as laborers on the plantations and in export processing zones migrated to larger cities. More industries evolved (e.g., food, textile, beverage) in response to the growing in-migration in the urban areas (Thoumi 1990).

While exportation and industrialization were taking place along the coastal area, the Sierra region was also experiencing significant changes in its economy. As the banana industry declined, large landowners in the highlands were forced to adopt new strategies to improve their financial situation. Agricultural modernization began to eradicate the pre-capitalist/feudal system of landowner-labor relations while introducing the utilization of improved seeds, livestock breeds, and modern machinery on the farms 31

(Clark 1998). Land reform, was implemented in 1964 through the creation of Instituto

Ecuatoriano de Reforma Agraria y Colonizacion (IERAC – the Ecuadorian Institute for

Agrarian Reform and Colonization) (Korovkin 1997). Haciendas were divided and distributed by the government and the peasants were allowed to own small subsistence plots (Crain 1990; Zamosc 1994).

However, the agrarian reform program was not entirely successful. The parcels of land that were distributed were of inferior condition, forcing rural people to cultivate their land intensively using non-traditional farming methods such as the use of chemical inputs to improve the quality of the soil. Furthermore, forest, pasture, and irrigation water--most of which were controlled by former hacendados--- were not accessible to peasants, marginalizing them even more (Suarez-Torres and Lopez-Paredes 1997). Some hacendados also sold much of their land and concentrated on developing of small areas on their hacienda for more income-generating endeavors such as dairy or textile production industry. Those who anticipated the government intervention sold pieces of their land to peasant Indians for excerbitant prices ( Zamosc 1994; Korovkin 1997).

The growing export economy on the coast and the transformation of the commercial haciendas in the highlands increasingly opened up Ecuador to the world market. This was further intensified when exportation of oil from Ecuador’s Amazon region began in 1972. Ecuador became one of the founding members of Organization of

Petroleum Exporting Countries–OPEC-in 1973 (Hidrobo 1992; Chislett 1994;

Handelsman 2000). The oil industry not only had a strong impact on industrialization, it also increased the participation of the government in oil distribution and exportation. In fact, with the exportation of petroleum, the government began to play a central, active 32 role in development. Consequently, Ecuador’s economic history became very different from the rest of small Latin American countries (Weiss 1997).

Afraid of allowing the oil industry to be controlled by the private sector, the government took over the industry and created a nationally-owned oil company called

“Corporacion Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana”, CEPE (Conaghan 1988; Anderson 1990).

The government also controlled certain industrial enterprises believed to be “basic” and

“strategic” such as oil refining and the petrochemical industry (Hidrobo 1992:41). This created a rising white collar, middle-income group of workers. Considerable investment for infrastructure was directed to the construction of roads, seaports, and airports.

Ecuador’s economic growth was so rapid during this period that it was elevated from being a low-income country to a middle-income nation (Anderson 1990). However, only a small percent of the population became affluent. The majority of the residents still belonged to the low-income group dwelling mostly in rural and urban slum areas

(Conaghan 1988).

The proliferation of migrant laborers in cities created a greater demand for goods and services, especially for food and health care. The situation opened opportunities for the processing industry to link its business to multinational corporations such as Colgate

Palmolive Company. Many of these local industries had a joint venture and/or transfer of technology agreements with multinational capitals to avoid competition especially in terms of advertising their respective products (Conaghan 1988). Ecuador was, thus, viewed as a good market for imported products and for foreigners to invest capital in manufacturing and processing. 33

Despite the fact that Ecuador’s economy flourished tremendously, many drawbacks were associated with the petroleum economy. The pattern of growth was extremely unequal, with more support and services providing economic growth for urban sectors, while agriculture in rural areas was neglected (Janvry, Sadoulet, and Fargeix

1991). Discrepancies among social classes became more apparent, with 65 percent of the rural population living below the poverty line (Conaghan 1988). Regional conflict increased, negatively affecting the implementation of policies and development projects of the government in the country. For instance, collection and distribution of revenues in different parts of the country became more problematic because most revenues came from the coast. Coastal region officials questioned the central government when it gave a portion of the revenues to other regions, weakening the latter’s role nationwide.

The competition from local capitalists and the implementation of state policies regarding industrial investment (i.e., tariff exemption laws) gave multinational industrialists greater control over prices of commodities. Monopoly and oligopoly thus became serious problems in the country as most of the profits and benefits of industrialization were only experienced by the capitalists and were hardly felt by the consumers, especially by those belonging to the low-income group (Handelsman 2000).

According to Bromley (1981) the development which has occurred has mainly been

‘incrementalist’ rather than ‘transformist,’ continuing and accentuating past trends rather than achieving radical changes in the social and economic structure. 34

Ecuador After the “Boom and Bust”

By the end of the 1970s, the oil economy began experiencing major problems, including high international interest rates, declining oil prices in the world economy, and the closing of international lending corporations. The beginning of oil exportation also inflated the country’s external debt (Chislett 1994; Weiss 1997). By the time the new set of officials assumed government leadership in 1979, the country’s debt had reached 3.57 billion US dollars (Economic Commission for Latin America 1979). As the economy worsened, the governmental approach continued to emphasize import-substitution policies, petroleum product subsidies, and price control on basic commodities (Weiss

1997). When the World Bank declined to provide Ecuador with another loan in 1981, then president Roldos raised the price of gasoline. Transportation strikes and field demonstrations resulted, negatively impacting the country’s peace and order conditions.

The next 10 years were very crucial to Ecuador as the four succeeding presidents made major structural adjustments (Hurtado 1981-1984, Cordero 1984-1988, Borja 1988-

1992, and Ballen 1992-1996). This period corresponds to the transition of Ecuador to a more democratic political system. The price control system was eliminated, and the cost of oil was raised to fund government expenditures on subsidies for various staple crops.

Tariff and non-tariff laws or government protection for various import-substitution industries were eliminated and the sucre was devalued (Maiguashca 1993; Zamosc 1994; dela Torre 1997). The devaluation actually had more to do with the role of the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in the country.

In order to reschedule the payment of its debts and to qualify for small standby loans from the two lending institutions, Ecuador had to follow the IMF/WB stabilization 35 programs. These included the devaluation of the sucre, a freeze on wages, augmentation of prices of basic commodities, and reduction of government expenditures (Weiss 1997).

The sucre was devalued three times from 1982-1986, affecting the peasants more than entrepreneurs (Mills 1984). Devaluation of the sucre caused the prices of agricultural products to decline and prices of imported agricultural inputs to rise (Zamosc 1994).

To cope with the structural changes taking place in the country, some indigenous people migrated to urban areas (e.g., Quito, Ambato) to engage in manual labor or handicraft production. Some were forced to leave their respective homes to work as street vendors, wage laborers, and domestic servants because income from agriculture or locally-based jobs was not enough to sustain their families (Korovkin 1997). On the other hand, a 1985 survey by Waters (1997) of 699 households in the province of Pichincha showed that 55 percent of the households owned agricultural land. This finding reflects the temporary nature of migration by farmers. Men usually migrated to urban areas on a weekly basis to find odd jobs to augment the family's income while women, with children and elders, continued to perform subsistence crop production in rural areas. During the peak seasons such as planting and harvesting, the men returned to their respective communities to help in agricultural activities (Waters 1997; Korovkin 1997). Those who temporarily moved to urban areas were peasants who owned small parcels of land unsuitable for large-scale production, and therefore not vulnerable to expulsion or land reform programs (Waters 1997). During the early part of 1980, the government augmented domestic agricultural production through the integration of peasants into the national labor and product markets (Crain 1990). Credit lines and new agencies such as

Fund for Rural Development for Marginalized Groups (FODERUMA) helped rural 36 families to intensify production on limited land by using agricultural products such as fertilizers and pesticides (Korovkin 1997). The organization also helped construct roads needed to transport commodities to other areas for sale.

The land reform program was largely unsuccessful during the hacienda system period, when the government tried again to implement agricultural programs including a

“better” land reform system because many hacienda owners adopted novel strategies for gaining more profit from their land. Many landowners did not “work” with the peasants because they were afraid of losing their land or wanted to avoid selling it at a low price as prescribed by land reform policies. Often, when land was being disputed, the landowner would sell it to a third party or would offer it to the peasant at an impossibly high price for the peasant to be able to afford . As Korovkin (1997:36) explained, “whereas in the

1970s peasants’ struggle for land had developed largely as a struggle against the remnants of precapitalist relations, in the 1980s and 1990s it was increasingly a struggle against marginalization within the context of the capitalist economy.”

Because of the poor condition of mountain soils that was exacerbated by the hacienda system (especially haciendas which specialized in cattle raising), production did not meet the subsistence needs of highland family. As a result, much of the food supply which often was based on foreign grain imports (e.g. wheat) was brought in from more commercialized urban centers of Ecuador. Usually these food products (e.g. noodles, gelatin, soft drinks) were of little nutritional value, worsening the already poor nutritional status of the peasants (Suarez-Torres and Lopez-Paredes 1997).

The continuing transformation of the economy spurred the indigenous people to become more politically and economically active through the development of indigenous 37 organizations, communes, and confederations (e.g.,Confederation of Indigenous

Nationalities of Ecuador). In fact, more than 500 indigenous communes were recorded in

1991 (Korovkin 1997). Through these organizations, indigenous people began to publicly assert their identity and their need for autonomy, sometimes to the extent of refusing any form of integration. During a protest held in 1983, one of the indigenous leaders emphasized the role of indigenous people in the overall development of the country. The leader-- a woman-- declared that it was not the large landholders who supplied the majority of food items needed by the population, but instead the peasants who worked in marginalized areas (Crain 1990).

Indigenous solidarity (as evidenced by their cultural revitalization and political uprising) had significant implications for the country, according to Zamosc (1994:39).

For one, indigenous resurgence "called attention to the situation of rural groups among the poorest sectors who are sometimes located in environmentally sensitive areas where natural resources have been targeted for development by the state and multinational corporations.” More and more, the politicization of indigenous organizations strengthened native culture and crystallized the idea of political autonomy.

The mestizo population, experiencing the same problem of poverty as the indigenous group, also began to diversify their income generating strategies. Men engaged in bus or truck driving, carpentry, and other skilled services while women worked as domestic helpers. The most striking change was on mestizo’s diet since they were forced to skip one or two meals because the price of commodities increased tremendously (Weiss 1997). As a consequence, their health condition deteriorated particularly among the children. Furthermore, because of the declining economy, women 38 were forced to work outside the home, thus affecting their household responsibilities including caring for their children. Oftentimes, women were placed in a dilemma of

“whether to seek employment or risk neglecting their children’s needs in some way or to forfeit economic resources that could be critical for food, health, and other basic necessities” (Pitkin and Bedoya 1997:39).

The development process that took place at the end of the 20th century had significant negative effects on the environment. The earlier expansion of haciendas

(especially those concentrating on raising livestock and commercial farming) compacted and impoverished the soil to the extent that it was no longer fit for farming. The provision of financial aid to farmers made it easier for them to purchase chemical inputs that further degraded the soil and polluted air (Southgate and Whitaker 1992). Farmers were also encouraged to cultivate hybrid crops. This push towards monoculture aggravated the problem of biodiversity erosion because only few traditional varieties of crops were maintained (Thapa et al. 1994).

On the coast, the construction of factories destroyed tropical rainforests, reduced biological diversity and changed the condition of the whole ecosystem (Soria 1990 in

Torres and Paredes 1997). The influx of people to the urban areas put extreme pressure on the cities’ water supply and sewage systems, creating water and air pollution. The oil economy damaged the forests where diverse flora and fauna lived. The high demand for lumber and other wood products triggered an increase in logging activities, resulting in more deforestation. Furthermore, roads constructed for the logging activities encouraged migration and population growth near the logging areas. Consequently, more trees were cut down and more land was exploited to cater to the workers’ housing and food needs. 39

In summary, Ecuador’s economic strategies can be seen as a mirror image of what other Third World countries have done and are still doing to “elevate” their condition. As in these other countries, Ecuadorian development has its price. It is clear that Ecuador is presently paying not only in terms of economic instability but also in environmental degradation. Much of the national ecological resources are depleted or unstable--not only threatening the entire country, but also the rest of the world. More research, however, is needed to determine the role that local factors play in the specific unfolding of development within Ecuadorian communities. In the chapters that follow, the impact of various local institutions and organizations in Ecuador is discussed, using the aforementioned two rural communities as case studies. The effect of economic stratification on women’s role in public and private spheres as well as their connection to the means of production are also addressed.

Research Methodology

This dissertation is based on 10 months of fieldwork in two rural communities in

Ecuador conducted from June 1999 to June 2000, with a two-month break in January and

February for preliminary data analysis. Intermittently during this period, secondary data on history, topography, climate, and various ecological dimensions were also collected from government agencies and local libraries.

The first month of my research period was spent in Quito for immersion in

Spanish and the culture. Subsequently, I moved to Cotacachi, the first of my research sites, and began my research. An apartment located at the center of the municipality was provided by an organization that funded my research-- the Sustainable Agriculture and 40

Natural Resource Management- Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM-

CRSP). SANREM is a research program that offers a new approach to sustainable development. It seeks to develop a new paradigm for agriculture and natural resource management that entails the multisectoral participation and collaboration between the

United States and developing countries. Participation from local and national governments is critical in the implementation of all its program and activities. These include research, training, and farmer participation on technology generation and evaluation. Its three main regional foci include Latin America, Asia, and Africa while the substantive areas of research include water and soil management and biodiversity conservation. My research was incorporated in the Ethnoecology project under the

Andean program which works with local indigenous organizations such as UNORCAC and Jambi Mascaric.

Most of my data were collected in the village of La Calera with the help of local assistants and informants. Presenting myself as a SANREM researcher placed me in different situations in my interactions with the local people. In one instance, when I told one indigenous woman that I worked with SANREM/UNORCAC, she immediately expressed her contempt for UNORCAC. According to her, UNORCAC is only using the indigenous people to get money from international agencies but it is not really helping the local people. Consequently, she became disinterested in my research, thinking that I was simply extracting information from the village and would use this information to gain profit. On other occasion I was mistaken for a missionary or government official because of the kind of questions I asked. However, as soon as I established rapport with these women, they became open and were willing to share even some highly personal 41 information. Being a foreigner who looks like them, also put me in an advantageous situation. The women called me “la gringa negra” because I spoke English like white foreigners but could be mistaken as someone from their area. Perhaps, these women felt more comfortable talking to a person who resembled them physically but did not belong to their culture.

The other research site, Palmitopamba in Nanegal, is located six hours from

Cotacachi. In contrasts to what I experienced in La Calera where my association with

SANREM and thus UNORCAC sometimes put me in an awkward position, in

Palmitopamba, being a SANREM researcher had the reverse effect. Except in one case where a mother expressed her personal disappointment about the lack of support given by

SANREM in terms of direct financial assistance, I was generally accepted and treated with hospitality in every household that I visited. However, because the people were already familiar with the environmental focus of SANREM, some of them answered my questions with these issues fore most in minds and thus could have affected the validity of my research results to some degree. To minimize this problem, I identified and selected women informants who had less experience with SANREM.

My time was equally divided between the two locations, usually a month at a time in each. In Palmitopamba, a host family whose members were very supportive of my research and my presence in their community provided board, lodging, and introduction to the community.

The groundwork for my research was laid by intensive participant observation in the daily life of the two communities. Through this method, I developed an understanding of how people, particularly women, understand their everyday problems and how they 42

deal with them. This in turn provided a meaningful context in which to ground other

research approaches. A considerable amount of time was spent working with women on

the farms or on handicrafts and sitting around with them on lazy afternoons. Attendance

at several meetings and training sessions (capacitación)--both government-and non- government-sponsored--and participation in a variety of religious and cultural activities including weddings, birthdays, funerals, and baptisms provided a fuller understanding of local organizations and community interactions.

At the beginning of the research, few individuals knowledgeable about the community were interviewed in order to select key informants. Various factors were taken into account in choosing informants, including (1) gender (focused on women), (2) ages of women (two or three generational set that includes a granddaughter, a mother, and a grandmother would need to be available for interview), (3) economic status, and (4) willingness to participate in the research. Four distinct sets of interviews were conducted with key informants, each involving different research activities. A separate interview was carried out with non-key informants to triangulate the information generated. Two separate group discussions were also conducted with women from different ages and class groups. A total of 55 key female informants spanning age and socioeconomic status were interviewed—23 of them are from the indigenous community of La Calera, and 22 are from the mestizo community of Palmitopamba.

The combination of research methodologies utilized in this research included: x Gate Keeper Interviewing– A total of four people displaying in-depth knowledge

about the community, households and economy of the study area were interviewed,

including local officials and leaders of various organizations. 43 x Wealth/Social Ranking—The 53 informants were asked to name five families each

from high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups. Then, each informant

was asked to explain why those families were considered to be “rich,” “middle

income” or “poor.” This method was used to determine the locally relevant criteria

for ranking relative economic status of the different members of the group. x Informal networking--Each informant was asked to name people and/or

organization(s) with whom she has been in contact. The names were then written on

strips of paper and the informant was asked to indicate how each person or

organization she mentioned is related to her. This was done by having them to

arrange the strips of paper according to their “closeness” to her; the closer a strip of

paper to the informant (whose own name was placed at the center), the closer the

relationship. The informant was also asked to explain the placement in order to elicit

information regarding the potentially influential people on women’s decision-making. x Focused Group Discussion—Twenty women from various age and class groups in La

Calera were asked to meet as a group to discuss the changes that have taken place in

their community during their lifetimes. Relevant topics included, for example,

demography, land use, the influx of development projects, and womens’ future goals.

The group was asked to identify and prioritize from the most urgent to the least

problems in the community, using matrix ranking. The focal group members also

were asked to aggregate local plants using their own classification criteria. The

information provided through this method was immediately corroborated by others

who were present at the meeting. Similar meeting was held in Palmitopamba where

18 women attended. 44

x Activity Recall - Time allocation by direct observation was the intended method to

use to keep track of the activities of woman within and outside the domestic sphere.

However, most women were uncomfortable with being observed (even interviewing

some of them was sometimes difficult). Consequently, the second-generation women,

10 from each site, were asked to recall all her activities throughout the day and

estimate the time spent on each activity. This method also provided details on

women’s specific daily activities.

x Collection of Life Histories--All key informants were asked to tell stories about their

lives beginning with their childhood. Emphasis was directed to occupation,

migration history, and agriculture, the latter including particularly the changes in

cultivated crops over time. Fluctuations in plant diversity during different stages of

economic development, agricultural technologies, and associated practices also were

requested. Life history elicitation was used to gather information regarding changes

in the society in relation to the informant’s life and gain a sense of history as

perceived and experienced by local people. x Reconstructive and Projective Mapping - Each woman was asked to draw/map her

garden as it was during different time periods--her present garden, her garden 10

years ago, and her ideal garden 10 years from now. These drawings were used to

supplement the information generated from the life history about the changes of plant

diversity over time.

My 10-year experience in participatory research led to the use of the above techniques to encourage local people’s active participation in the collection of data.

Unlike formal surveys, my methodology required a more established rapport between my 45 informants and the researcher before beginning the investigation. The process resulted in a more emic interpretation of realities that helped in analyzing and interpreting the ethnographic data. More important, however, is the kind of information these methods can generate in answering my research questions. Gate keeper interviewing and focus group discussion, for example, are used to provide more general information about the research area, its people, and the overall condition of the research sites. The latter is also useful in triangulating the data collected from more in-depth individual interviews.

My research problem was focused on three realms: development, women, and biodiversity. The remaining methods utilized had corresponding “roles” in answering the questions. Wealth or social ranking provides information regarding women’s view of development in relation to their economic position in the community, as well as that of their neighbors. The informal networking method allows the analysis of coalition formation and power relations using informant’s formal or informal associations. Activity recall helps in the analysis of an informant’s allocation of time divided among various activities she performs associated with both her public and private spheres. Collection of life histories assists in the retrieval of information that is not recorded in historical documents. The method also represents history at a different level than traditional representations, as it emphasizes changes in the environment, people, and culture.

Homegarden mapping is used in analyzing changes in biodiversity, particularly of food crops cultivated in the homegardens. The maps also are used to complement life history data in terms of tracing environmental transformation of the area. 46

The raw data collected were inputed into a computer at an UNORCAC community organization office. Eventually, the data were analyzed using various statistical programs such as SPSS and Microsoft Excel. CHAPTER TWO

A LONG ROAD TO DEVELOPMENT: SOME THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Some key theoretical approaches to development relevant to my research are discussed in this chapter. An appreciation of development theories is an important background from which to view women’s integration into the development process.

Furthermore, a historical perspective of development approaches will help explain the relationship between First and Third World countries and provide a better understanding of why the process is usually, if not always, geared toward the singular goal of economic growth--one that overlooks history, culture, and national as well as individual agency. Given the subject matter, my discussion will concentrate on approaches to development that have greater bearing and impact on Third World countries.

Also examined are the integration or non-integration of women into the development process and how they are marginalized in the development process.

Critics of the conventional development paradigm, particularly those who espouse the feminist line of argument (i.e., Mohanty 1991; Kabeer 1995; Escobar 1995), not only underscore the negative impact of development on the general well-being of the population in underdeveloped countries but also highlight the problem of “gender blindness” or the neglect of its implication on changes in roles and status of women, and the household decision-making process. With the goal of achieving a more highly industrialized and commercialized nation, the condition of marginal sectors of the 48 population in the Third World countries has been ignored, peripherizing and marginalizing women both to the debate and to the supposed benefits. I call attention to the way marginality- - conventionally defined as the creation and/or imposition of an inferior and discriminated status through limited access to economic resources and alienation from the dominant group (Floyd, et.al. 1994) -- is presented in the literature, especially marginality of Third World women. In my research, I came across different facets of marginality in relation to women’s agency. This dissertation attempts to place the concept of marginality in a broader perspective than is presented in the literature—particularly as it appears to Third World women. In this context, marginalized women are not totally “oppressed” but are paradoxically empowered by their very constraining positions.

Another issue discussed in this chapter is the interaction between women and the environment in relation to development. Accumulation of wealth is a principal component of the development strategy. However, changes in technology including new methods of production and transportation and changes in market orientation take place that eventually lead to various problems associated with this transformation.

The environment, for example, is finite in terms of energy and materials it can provide for human survival as well as the human waste it can absorb (Booth 1998).

As a result, the continuing exploitation of resources and disposal of wastes aggravate the problems of air and water pollution and the disappearance of natural habitat for flora and fauna. Conventional development strategies do not take into account conservation issues or sustainable use of the environment for the benefit of future generations (Escobar 1995; Agarwal 1992). Furthermore, the significant contribution 49 of environmental conservation at the micro level, e.g., women’s homegardens, is generally neglected in the conventional development formula. These issues will be presented and contextualized using women’s interpretations and perceptions about these issues in the chapters that follow.

Theories and Approaches to Development

Development, according to Escobar (1995), is rooted in the creation of a new strategy to change the status of certain countries considered to be underdeveloped.

This strategy aims to integrate the so-called underdeveloped countries into the global capitalist economy through colonialism and neocolonialism (Gordon 1996:1). The overall goal of development is to bring the Third World countries up to par with more advanced societies characterized through industrialization, technicalization of agriculture, and modernization of cultural values (Escobar 1995; Scott 1995; Rapley

1996). In the process, the more developed northern nations or the West, define themselves as the center of global power and assume the responsibility for replicating their economic status to other nations of the world. From the dominant Western perspective, before a Third World country can reach the status of being developed, the country must follow the proper “evolutionary changes” of economic growth

(Rostow 1960; Gheedo 1973; Kabeer 1994; Scott 1995). The concept of Third World came about at the end of World War II, when different nations were divided into two major groups: the capitalist—defined as the First World-- and the Soviet communist bloc as the Second World. Countries not belonging to either major group were called the Third World. Presently, Third World nations are called developing countries, a 50 category that now includes some belonging to the communist group. The main characteristics of Third World countries are low per capita income, low educational attainment, and poor health conditions with agriculture as the major source of income for the majority of them. According to Rapley (1996), the most important commonality among countries belonging to the Third World is the colonial history experienced from former imperial powers of Europe and Asia.

In general, development is conceived as a linear process in which a nation or people moves from underdevelopment--equated with traditional institutions and values-- to full development--associated with modernity, rationality, and industrialization (Rostow 1960; Tiano 1984; Johnston 1991; Kabeer 1995). In other words, Third World countries can only be “developed” when they gain a status equivalent to the industrialized countries in the North such as the United States and other European countries through more or less the same route.

The focus of development has evolved from a mere material enrichment or increase in production as measured, for example, by gross national product (GNP) to a more “humanitarian” approach. This requires an increase in production to allow individuals more options to have a better life, prevent illness, enhance their knowledge, and cultivate their capabilities (Griffin 1999). After World War II, development thinkers mostly from the North devised strategies to achieve different goals and objectives. Classical Marxism, for example, posited that development is achieved when the mode of production is totally shared and distributed among individuals. According to this theory, the ideal society should move from the primitive mode through ancient, feudal, capitalist, and socialist, to the communist 51 society (Marx 1979). The creation of an urban proletariat by capital investment in agriculture and industry that would eventually result in socialist revolution is essential in accomplishing this objective (D’Amico 1994). Classical Marxism considers capitalism as a mode of production whereby the working class performs a crucial role in emancipating the oppressive condition of the people. Because of the exploitation and oppression of the bourgeois class over the proletariat, revolution is a consequence perceived to be crucial in the emancipation of the latter.

Following Marx’s ideas of capitalism as the “necessary evil” in achieving development, Lenin emphasizes imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism where various mechanisms such as colonialism and free competition are utilized to achieve economic growth (Skarstein 1997). However, this approach remains linear in character since it only underscored the importance of the “old mode of production” as a prerequisite for economic development. Lenin’s approach posits that other countries are still underdeveloped because they have not yet established the capital mode of production that eventually results in economic revolts. Furthermore, it ignores the importance of human agency and the complexity of social transformation in its assertion of economic growth (Escobar 1995).

Similar to the theory discussed previously, modernization theory posits that development takes place only when different stages of economic growth are realized.

The economic development begins in the traditional stage and proceeds through the take-off stage to modernity and finally to maturity and the age of higher consumption

(Rostow 1960; Rapley 1996). Modernization theory, however, contradicts the main idea of classical Marxism about communism being the ultimate stage of development. 52

Modernization theorists believed that there is only one strategy to achieve development--to follow what the Western countries have done in advancing their conditions. These theorists argue that there is no fundamental difference between the

First and Third World nations. They believe that the only reason Third World countries are underdeveloped is because they lag behind in advancing their technology, skills, and enterprises. Changing their economic, political, and social institutions are factors that would make Third World countries develop according to

Scott (1995) and Rapley (1996).

According to modernization theory, underdeveloped or developing nations can speed up the development process through the help of developed countries and donor institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. This would involve promoting industrialization and commercialization to rural areas and transferring labor from rural subsistence economy to a highly urbanized, modernized, and industrialized economy. Further, this theory emphasizes that growth can be attained by moving the small, semi-subsistence agriculturalists into a modern sector that primarily produces for the market (Floro 1991). Adoption of new technologies and institutionalization of production-related activities are also important in this approach to development. Parpart and Marchand (1995) underscore that modernization theory utilizes the traditional-modern dichotomy and suggests that the goal of all traditional societies is to become modern. This theory emphasizes the dichotomy between two opposite entities including rich and poor, developed and underdeveloped, and the process whereby two extremes will meet. The process, however, always entails struggle, and, development will always be associated with 53 domination (Scott 1995). Vandana Shiva points out that development as the well- being of all is thus equated with the westernization of economic categories of needs, productivity, and growth (1989).

Dependency Theory: The Latin American Experience

Because the relationship between the First World or developed countries and

Third World or underdeveloped countries intensified as colonization and modernization took place in different parts of the world, another approach to development--called the dependency theory—was developed. However, before discussing the dependency theory, it is important to present another theory, the capitalist world system, that is foundational to the dependency theory. Immanuel

Wallesrtein (1974) developed the world system theory that accounts for the continued growth in world economy and the disparity between the developed and the developing worlds. In the 16th century, Europe moved towards the establishment of an economic system that extends beyond the political boundaries of any one empire.

The new economic world system, according to Wallerstein, is based on an international division of labor where each region of the world assumed a position and role in different categories including the core, semi-periphery, periphery, and external. Among these categories, the core benefits most through profits gained from international trade and from exchange of materials from the peripheral and sometimes semi-peripheral countries. This has resulted to the alteration of political systems and labor conditions in various regions of the world. In the end, the core-periphery dynamic has increased the disparities between sectors of the world economy where 54 the relationship between the core and its periphery and semi-periphery is more and more polarized and entrenched.

The dependency theory, although very similar to the capitalist world system theory, has been critically analyzed using the Latin American experience. The approach actually developed for this region (Blomstrom and Hettne 1984). For this reason, I will devote a significant portion of my review to this perspective. According to Blomstrom and Hettne (1984), the dependency theory derived from the convergence of two schools of thought: neo-marxism and an ideology based on the

United Nation’s Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) tradition. Before

Latin America became the focus of attention as a special case for this economic framework, the dependency theory first came to light through the writings of Paul

Baran in the 1950s (Blomstrom and Hettne 1984; Rapley 1996). His main argument was that First World countries actually hinder the development of the Third World countries. Based on Baran’s analysis, feudalism gave birth to capitalism, which in its final stage would have improved agricultural production. This final stage requires extensive division of labor and capital accumulation that eventually would provide an economic surplus. This process worked in Western Europe because of its advantageous geographical location. Despite lack of natural resources, this led to a better international trading relation with other countries. However, this same process did not work to the benefit of Third World countries because colonization halted the countries’ industrial development (Blomstrom and Hettne 1984). As a direct result of colonization, resources that could have been used for investment internally were appropriated for other uses such as for cheap raw materials for production (Rapley 55

1996). Third World countries were caught in the middle and became victims of the worst of both feudalism and capitalism. Thus, the idea that capitalism from the core would have a positive trickle down effect on the peripherized, Third World countries, was abandoned by Baran who then introduced the concept of underdevelopment. This idea was further sharpened by Andre’ Gunder Frank (AGF) in his analysis of the political economy of Latin America (Rapley 1996).

Frank argued that countries must go through a succession of stages in order to develop but countries considered to be underdeveloped share no similarities whatsoever in their past and present conditions with developed countries. He further pointed out that underdevelopment is never an original stage but a condition perpetuated for the advantage of the developed countries (Hettne 1990). Related to this was his argument against the idea that each nation’s own particular economic, political, social, and cultural characteristics affect their development. For Frank, the main cause of uderdevelopment of other countries was the continued exploitation of the developed countries, which he referred to as the center (Frank 1969, Skarstein

1997).

By making Third World countries the main producers of raw materials and the target markets for the finished goods from the First World, the development- underdevelopment dichotomy continues to exist. Frank posited that expropriation of profits or economic surplus by the First World is not only happening in the Third

World but was introduced and maintained internally in the latter (Skarstein 1997). In other words, power not only exists in the core, capitalist country but also in the periphery through the national elite class, which serves as a “link” to the ruling class 56 of the First World and the rest of the elites in peripherized countries. Frank presented several case studies of Latin American countries that illustrate how, within the Third

World countries, there exists a highly select group of exploitative elite. In Brazil, for example, the expansion of the world economy or the capitalist system through exportation has lead to a widening gap between the rich and the underdeveloped regions of the country. This was aggravated when the productivity of the country declined resulting in less foreign exchange and more domestic interests in goods produced (Frank 1969). Another study done by the Mexican National Indian Institute demonstrates that the mestizo population living in the city has a close economic relationship with the indigenous population that reside in the rural areas. The city, which is the center of economic exchange and a place where much interaction takes place, also becomes the center of exploitation as mestizos use this place as a venue of overpowering the indigenous people by controlling prices of the commodities which they sell. Indigenous people do not have any alternatives but to continue trading with the mestizos because they have no other markets to sell their produce.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) developed under the influence of Raul Prebisch (Blomstrom and Hettne 1984;

Skarstein 1997), was founded in 1948 in Santiago, Chile with 21 members including

Latin American countries, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands. The framework was developed after Latin America experienced the negative effect of the great depression in the 1930s (Hettne 1990; Preston 1996; Meier and Rauch 2000). The demand for products from industrialized countries declined when the income of Latin

America fell. Prebisch argued that the international free trade was the cause of Latin 57

American underdevelopment. He posited that the relationship that exists between the industrial centers and the peripheral countries, particularly in Latin American, was unbalanced. Furthermore, he pointed out that because the primary role of the Third

World countries is to produce food and supply raw materials to the First World, the first to be affected when prices fluctuate are the peripherized countries. In most cases, the prices of raw materials fall relative to the manufactured products being sold by the First World countries. As a result, the position of the Third World countries weakens in as far as core-periphery dichotomy is concerned (Bloomstrom and Hettne

1984). Another problem raised by ECLA, particularly by Prebisch, was the capacity of First World countries to independently exchange products with several peripheral,

Third World countries. This in turn directly affected the problem of processing commodities (Preston 1995). Latin American countries were particularly affected because their economy depended mainly on exportation of major products.

Hence, the dependency theory emphasizes the role and function of global social movements, particularly colonization, as forces that bring about changes to the distribution of money and power. The focus is not on the community but on hierarchy in a hegemonic order that paves the way for the developed countries to dominate underdeveloped countries (Parpart and Marchand 1995; Peet 1999). Furthermore, despite appearances and tokens, the underdeveloped regions such as Latin America are not “encouraged” to advance the way that the First World countries have advanced since they serve as the source of materials and the market for the commodities produced in the First World. In short, the wealth of the few advanced nations depends on the impoverishment of the many less advanced ones. 58

The main goal of the developed countries such as the United States and

European countries is to accumulate capital, access resources and to earn high profits.

This began with colonialism and imperialism and degenerated over time into virtually permanent economic dependency of the colonized countries, even after the countries gained their independence (Preston 1996; Meier and Rauch 2000). After the period of overt colonialism, First World countries began global economic exchange through capitalism. As a result, national development is appraised through a country’s economic growth according to its position in the international system (i.e., whether core or periphery). All these indicators of development have in fact, nothing to do with the quality of life or equal distribution of resources. This approach has made the problems of the Third World even worse since it does not address issues of ethnic conflict, environmental problems, and class and gender inequalities. The limitation of the dependency theory is that it only emphasizes the struggle among nations centered on productive activity, without paying sufficient attention to other struggles such as that of gender and environment.

Development and Environment

As development penetrated different parts of the world, its first noticeable negative effect was on the environment. Development highlighted economic growth and accumulation of wealth at the expense of everything else. No matter what type of development approach or strategy is used, this process always involves various First and Third world countries and international agencies in social and political transformations through such mechanisms as free markets, exportation/importation, 59 commercial agricultural production, privatization of state enterprises, and urbanization (Hirsmann 1995; Sachs 1995). In the end, economic growth leads to the depletion of the environment. However, underdeveloped countries always pay a greater share of the cost of development while they usually have limited access to its benefits (Miller and Rossman 1995).

Evidence that the earth’s finite resources are overtaxed by unsustainable extraction and uncontrolled commercialization include global warming and climate change, desertification, and depletion of the ozone layer, and local land degradation and soil erosion, water shortage, air, water, and land pollution, and species extinction.

Biodiversity erosion is particularly harder and harder to ignore (Bartelmus 1994;

Booth 1998). Although it is important to discuss these impacts, my discussion will focus on issues concerning the effect of agricultural commercialization and industrialization/urbanization on Third World countries--two major mechanisms of modernization that work against nature (Gotlieb 1996).

In countries such as Ecuador, industrialization triggers the formation of urban centers, and importation/exportation activities dominate the economy. When the exportation industry boosts the economy of Third World countries (at least during the early part), both national and external financial assistance are given to urban areas to support the industry and the infrastructure. Consequently, migration to urban areas increases and pollution problems develop. Air pollution coming from households, factories (e.g., cement, coal, iron and steel, petroleum refineries and chemicals), and vehicles becomes a crucial problem in the city. The condition is exacerbated by water pollution mostly coming from industrial discharge metals, residential solid waste, and 60 the lack of proper disposal systems in big cities. Usually, oceans, lakes, and rivers serve as the dumping sites, fouling the beaches, destroying fisheries, and contaminating the ground water-- affecting the water supply for human consumption

(Mikesell 1992; Park and Labys 1998; Booth 1998). Eventually, the people’s quality of life is affected, specifically their health.

In agricultural transformation, small, semi-subsistence agriculture is converted into a modern commercialized sector, mainly to serve the sprawling urban centers (Floro 1991). Use of new technologies and hybrid seeds have become intensified in the Third World nations to produce larger quantities for the expanded market, requiring developing countries to rely heavily on external support through international institutions such as IMF and the WB. Eventually, Third World nations sink in development-driven debt.

Technologies developed for agriculture are negatively affecting the quality of water as chemicals are washed off from the farm. The soil becomes more acidic from the use of chemical inputs and erodes because of overuse to cultivate a few crops. Air pollution also becomes a problem due to pesticides being applied on the farm to eliminate not only the harmful insects but the “friendly” ones as well (Pagiola et.al

1998). This situation causes deterioration of the agriculture system and an imbalance in the ecological system as other levels of the food chain are eliminated in the process. Miller and Rossman (1995) emphasize that destruction of the ecosystem for intensive agricultural production may eliminate the very organisms on which agriculture relies on. Matson, et.al. (1997), point out that agricultural intensification leads to the transformation of the insect, predator, parasite, and microbe communities. 61

As fewer crops are planted, insects and other specialist herbivores increase in densities because their host range has narrowed down (Miller and Rossman 1995).

Biodiversity: An Eroding Resource

Biological diversity or biodiversity encompasses the genetic variability of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms and the ecosystems and ecological processes that sustain them (Noss and Cooperrider 1994; Pagiola et.al 1998). All organisms live and die, propagate and multiply with or without human intervention.

Human beings, however, do not have the ability to sustain life without using the biological diversity found in the environment. Plants and animals are crucial in the sustenance of human life, thus, humans use and affect biodiversity in sustaining their needs.

Although the location of and motivation behind the first domestication of plants remain debatable, it is generally agreed that the first domestication began when our ancestors began to collect wild plant, and “planted” them near their settlements (Fowler and Mooney 1990; Heiser 1990). It also was apparent from the way people used plants that pre-industrial agricultural communities tended to increase diversity of landraces— varieties developed by farmers by selecting plants with desired characteristics over many plant generations, and they are usually adapted to specific local environments---rather than to decrease it (Harlan 1994). For example, the primary use of sorghum was grain but people also used the plant to make brooms.

Other plants such as different varieties of gourds also were used as food, food containers, and musical instruments, and maize, particularly the red variety was 62 utilized in ceremonies. Because of multiple uses and divergent preferences, the first farmers maintained a diversity of plants and practiced “breeding” to maintain or introduce plant traits (Fowler and Mooney 1990).

William Lacy (1994) outlined five periods of plant manipulation that enhanced or reduced their diversity. These included the selection by farmers of various crops and their varieties over several thousand years; activities of commercial plant breeders using trial and error techniques, improvement of breeding activities with the help of Mendelian genetics, development of hybrid varieties; and the use of biotechnologies (e.g., bioengeneering). All these activities aimed to improve varieties of plants for human consumption. Lacy also pointed out that “science provided justification for the reconstruction of nature along lines desired by human beings, while modern technologies provided its means” (1994: 5). As these manipulations increased, erosion of plant diversity also intensified.

One of the objectives of development is to increase agricultural production either for commercial purposes or for local consumption. To increase the productivity, the capitalist system employs strategies to lower the cost of production but still keep products competitive in the market. One way to do this is to select more marketable varieties. Another is to select genes which have the desirable traits of almost “perfect” and easier to grow, in order to create hybrid seeds. The first to use hybrid seeds were those countries that became the beneficiaries of the Green

Revolution program --- the Third World countries.

The Green Revolution was implemented to augment production of food because of the increasing world population. Its objective was to create abundance in 63 agricultural societies, usually located in the Third World. Fowler and Mooney (1990) point out that aside from the humanitarian objectives of the Green Revolution, another goal was also being achieved in the process—to alleviate rural residents’ discontent caused by lack of food.

Eventually the Rockefeller Foundation was established to play a key role in developing infrastructure to transform agriculture in the Third World. Several international research centers were also established including the Center for

Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research

Institutes (IRRI), located in Mexico and the Philippines, respectively. The hope, according to Shiva (1996), was that as crop yields increased, the threat of communist insurgency and agrarian conflict would be reduced. The main strategy of the Green

Revolution is to breed hybrids of staple crops including rice, corn, and wheat and promote the use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides (Field 1991).

The process was implemented by giving poor farmers of underdeveloped countries hybrid seeds accompanied by “necessary” chemical inputs without testing to see if the “technology package” was appropriate in certain areas. Since the seeds and inputs were initially given free of charge and the farmers had no alternatives, they adopted the technology. As expected, the improved landraces were tested in controlled areas and when they were released under normal conditions, the crops did not perform well

(Brush 1989; Nazarea 1998). It was already too late when the limited “success” of the

Green Revolution was realized. Farmers were already hooked on using hybrid seeds because of market demand and because the traditional system of farming had already 64 been altered, including the physical condition of the soil and the predator-prey relationship.

The sad realization of how biological diversity is important in the sustenance of human beings occurred when potato blight (Phytophtera infestas) infested farms of Europe causing the deaths of millions of Irish people (Rhoades and Nazarea 1999).

Because there was only one variety of potato cultivated in the region of Ireland, all potato crops were wiped out. This devastation made international agriculturalists realize the importance of planting and maintaining diversified crops. This resulted ultimately in the creation of a network to collect and preserve germplasm for major crops of the world (Plucknet 1987). Specific organizations such as International

Board for Plant Genetic Resources1 also were created under the umbrella of the bigger international research centers to facilitate an international exchange program and to create a broad-based collection of genetic resources (Brush 1989). The importance and value of biodiversity, however, does not stop with having genebanks that serve as sources of material when certain crops fail. Many other reasons why biodiversity, especially genetic resources, is important to conserve include its direct utilitarian or economic value for food, fiber, fodder, and medicine (Noss and

Cooperrider 1994). It should be noted, however, that this first reason also creates the burden of over-using the resource because people tend to overuse nature with the motive of gaining more profit. A second basis for conservation is the indirect value that biodiversity plays in the maintenance of the whole ecosystem. For example, soil is generated and maintained through its organic matter, climate is controlled, and

1 IBPGR is now known as International Plant Genetic Research Institute. 65 pollutants are regulated when the ecosystem is in its original condition. The third reason consists of the recreational and esthetic values that help people to maintain balance in their lives. The fourth and final reason is people’s intrinsic, spiritual, and ethical values. The last reason might have the least economic value but it seems to be the most important for people who regard the environment as essential to their quality of life.

The activities undertaken by farmers as well as informal institutions or groups geared towards in situ conservation are related to the issue of conservation at the international level. Previously this type of conservation method was rejected by the members of international organizations and not considered as a method in conserving biodiversity because it is practiced by local farmers (Brush 1991). In situ conservation means conserving plants in their natural habitats (Hoyt 1988; Brush

1991). Generally, the in situ approach aims to preserve land and water so that diversity will continue to evolve through time (Bell and Pimbert 1996). Technically, in situ conservation is done with wild relatives of the native plants (Hoyt 1988), usually in national parks and other protected areas. With the increasing problem of genetic erosion, however, other alternative approaches to conservation are being recognized by those who resist uniformity of plants and control of the world resource by a few individuals.

On–farm conservation, including homegardens, is an example of an alternative conservation method. Brush (1991) cited three important reasons why on- site conservation is important. By doing conservation on-farm, knowledge about commonness and rarity among crops can be understood. Financially, in situ methods 66 may be less expensive than ex situ maintenance. Lastly, in situ conservation can serve as a back-up to ex situ conservation-- particularly of crops considered unimportant by plant breeders. These “insignificant plants” are usually found in women’s homegardens.

Midmore et al, (1991) described the homegarden as an area with mixed croppings of fruits, vegetables, trees and herbs. Its main function is to provide additional sources of food and income for the household. Generally, however, its plants are used primarily for subsistence. Aside from providing food for the family, the homegarden also is the source of significant contributions to the family’s income, particularly if some of the produce is sold. It also generates employment among members of the household, especially women who most likely have limited access to commercial farms (Midmore et al 1991; Sachs 1997). Because of its very nature of maintaining diversified crops, the homegarden helps protect the environment. Soil nutrients are conserved through mixed cropping, and pest problems are limited since plant repellants are usually cultivated in the garden. Availability of various plants also means diversified sources of nutrients for the family members. It is common knowledge that women in general maintain the homegarden and that they also bear the responsibility of providing for the family’s needs on a day-to-day basis.

Women and Environment

Early theoretical explanations of their relationship between women and the environment focused on the connection between the domination of women and the domination of environment, and the role of women in environmental conservation

(Sachs 1997). Ecofeminism, according to Mellor (1997:1) “ is a movement that sees a 67 connection between the exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and oppression of women.” There are, broadly speaking, three schools of ecofeminism: liberal, cultural, and social/Marxist ecofeminism. Ecofeminists who consider themselves liberal emphasize passing laws governing women and the environment and providing equal opportunity for women in the workplace. For example, liberal ecofeminists tried to pursue equal rights for women in owning land and in getting technical support for agriculture. Cultural ecofeminists, on the other hand, regard patriarchy as the source of environmental degradation and oppression of women. According to this school, the relationship between women and the environment is based on the symbolic and biological connections between them and that women’s biological ability to give birth makes them closer to nature than men

(Mellor 1997; Tong 1998). Finally, socialist and Marxist ecofeminists associate men’s control of women and the environment to both patriarchy and capitalism.

Consequently from this perspective, women can be emancipated and the environment saved only if social justice is achieved.

Some feminists including Annabel Rodda (1991), Shiva (1995), Kabeer

(1995), and Sachs (1997) do not consider women’s biological ability to give birth as the reason why women are closer to nature than men. They tend to lean more toward the explanation that women are closer to the environment because of the way that women utilize the environment. Rodda (1991) emphasizes that women always regard the environment as the source of everything they need for the household. Women usually collect and keep various nuts, fruit seeds, rootcrops, and herbs for human food, medicine, and livestock feed for which they also are responsible. This point was further elaborated by Shiva (1995) when she stressed that the nature of women’s 68 access to natural resources is a critical factor in determining the potential of rural households to survive. Indeed, some have argued that the continuing decline in women’s control of natural resources is the primary reason for worldwide ecological decline. This section reviews this continuing debate on relationship between women and nature.

Women in the Third World have been dealing with environmental problems since the beginning of time but specifically during the reign of the capitalist economy

(Harcourt 1994). Yet, aside from the fact that the majority of women’s work is not considered crucial in achieving the countries’ development (since the only work considered to be economically significant are those which contribute to countries’

GNP), women’s critical function in protecting the environment is likewise taken for granted. Activities related to the conservation of plant genetic diversity, for example, are only recognized when performed by formal institutions such as international research centers that are mostly dominated by male scientists. Hence, until lately, various informal and unstructured plant resource conservation undertaken by women as part of their daily lives in different parts of the world, especially in the Third

World, were ignored.

Women in the southern hemisphere were the “farmers” in the family since the beginning of human history because they were responsible for providing food for the households, especially during times of economic hardship. Plant collection has been their primary role in the household (Stephens 1990). Alexandra Stephens (1990:27) emphasized that "the survival of our species has depended more on women's ability to cultivate a steady supply of food than the men who have returned home from hunting and fishing trips empty-handed." Even when societies changed from hunting/gathering to horticulture, the role of women as food gatherers and cultivators remained critical for human survival. The role of women as cultivators of rootcrops 69 and different types of “weeds” highlights that women have been more responsible for the survival and propagation of different crop species for thousands of years. In the case of Gururumba, New Guinea, although men cultivate various crops including sugarcane, taro, and banana, these crops are usually used to exchange for and they only provide a minor source of food for the family. Women, on the other hand, cultivate sweet potatoes which serve as the main source of food for both humans and animals. When both men and women work together in the field, women collect weeds, grasses, and other edible plants, and process them to diversify the family’s food source (Friedl 1975)2.

As production methods changed over time, control of resources including land and seeds were transferred into the hands of men. The changing social system gave men more opportunities to access new technologies, cash crops, farm inputs, and credit. This process further supported the development of the patriarchal system

(Floro 1991; Sachs 1996), making agriculture men’s domain. During the era of colonialist expansion, the role of men as farmers was accentuated as commercial crops were introduced into their culture (Kabeer 1995). Fortunately, despite the fact that women no longer have access to large pieces of land, they continue to collect, propagate, and experiment with seeds in their homegardens that could be beneficial to their households. In this process, they conserve, propagate, and further diversify plant genetic resources (Llaguno 1990) With modernization, crop production became part of men's domain while women were forced to cultivate their gardens in unfertile soil, on marginal areas, and in areas near their houses so they could at the same time take care of their children. These areas became repositories for plant genetic resources as women enriched the soil through their knowledge and management practices gleaned

2 Friedl observes three patterns of cultivation among horticulturalists: 1) men prepare the land, both men and women cultivate the crops, 2) men clear the land and women cultivate the crops, 3) and men 70

from experience.

Consequently, women's homegardens became informal experiment stations as women

collected, transferred, and experimented with indigenous species for their adoption in

specific areas as well as for their potential for processing at home (Banning and Hill

1996). In the Philippines, for example, women farmers experiment with different

species of crops (i.e. sweet potato) to determine which of the local cultivars is best for

certain recipes or can survive the hot summer weather (Sandoval-Nazarea 1994; Prain

and Piniero1994). Midmore and his colleagues (1991) discussed the importance of

homegardens in the lives of the marginalized population, especially of women. The

contributions of homegardens include food and economic security, dietary variation,

and protection of environment.

Aside from being experimenters, women are crop/farm managers in their own

right since they always integrate crops with their activities. For example, women in

the Bicol region of the Philippines protested against the introduction of certain

varieties of beans characterized with a shorter harvesting season. The women claimed

that the new variety would adversely affect the delicate cash flow of their households

because the available food in the market would change as new pattern of production

would emerge. More beans of the new variety would flood the market, affecting

prices of other produce. This situation underscores the fact that women, with more

"diversified work pattern and with the responsibility of covering food and budget

deficits, are more sensitive to the intricate balance of crops and economic activities"

(Illo 1990:3).

A study led by the International Plant Genetic Resource Institute (IPGRI)

found that women in Colombia have crucial roles in the decision -making process in

terms of what crops and varieties to cultivate on the family farms (SEARICE 1995, clear the land and cultivate the crops. 71

IBPGR 1991). Women always consider different characteristics of a crop (i.e., cooking time, flavor, color, softness of the skin) which are ignored by their male counterparts. Women in Sabah, Malaysia are responsible for cultivation, hence, they are more knowledgeable about planting time, storage preparation, and other characteristics of plants that they grow. This knowledge makes them in charge of managing the planting materials and in deciding what materials to use in every cropping season (SEARICE 1995).

It is clear in the abovementioned examples that women, even as they continue to perform their responsibilities within and outside the households, are the main savers and keepers of diverse food crop seeds in many cultures. Unfortunately, local women's knowledge has been disregarded by international centers and national agencies which only give importance to the knowledge gained through researches conducted by professional plant breeders. However, as pointed out by many social scientists, local farmers have various criteria in selecting or discarding certain varieties of crops. Women in particular select seeds or the planting materials not only because of their early maturation characteristic or high productivity (as seems to be the focus of plant breeder's attention) but also based on the variety’s gastronomic qualities (Nazarea 1998). Other characteristics that women take into consideration include the crops' compatibility with other crops, cooking time, size of grain, and plants’ suitability to different types of soil and terrain (Sachs 1992). Women in developing countries are more knowledgeable about various species of plants that would be best for fodder and food since they are also responsible for family’s livestock production.

When men migrated to urban cities to work, women were left in the rural areas and forced to perform dual roles as home managers and farm workers in order to contribute to the family’s income. Often, women have become more peripheral in 72 the process as they were left to cultivate marginal lands abandoned by men (Esterik

1982). Furthermore, access to land rights, equipment, appropriate technology, credit, education and extension benefits that were previously given to men were not provided to women when their turn came to toil the land (Esterik 1982; Illo 1990).

Women were then faced with several constraints as they continued to sustain the life of the household. Stephens (1990) points out that recent statistics, which only tell half of the story, and much of it questionable, also confirm that rural women's workday is lengthening. After women work in the farm during the day, they must attend to their children and household chores at night.

To make the situation worse, women in some parts of the world have been blamed for the deterioration of the environment when they were forced to cultivate subsistence crops in marginal lands and sometimes even destroy forests to till the more fertile soil in order to survive (Llaguno 1990). As this situation continues to prevail, women as the main keepers of seeds and caretakers of the environment are locked in a place where the big questions revolve around what direction to proceed as far as their roles in relation to society, economic development, and nature are concerned. It is apparent that women have crucial roles in the conservation of plant genetic diversity because of their responsibility of ensuring food security for their family and community. Therefore, it is important to redirect the attention of various agricultural development policies toward supporting women’s role in the conservation of the environment especially of biodiversity (Kabeer 1995). 73

Women and Development

As discussed earlier, development as a process and as an approach has been criticized since the 1960s because of its singular focus on economic growth. Some of the criticisms include the exacerbation of poverty in Third World countries, greater polarization of countries in the northern and southern hemispheres, intensification of economic and gender inequalities, and deterioration of the environment. Another important issue in the development is the integration of women in the development process, particularly on the extent to which the socioeconomic and political structures of developing nations improve the position and condition of women (Illo 1990; Floro

1991; Bradoiti 1994). In this regard, feminists (i.e., Boserup, Wollstonecraft, John

Stuart Mill) who are concerned with women’s equality began to question the role and position of women in development as a result of increasing integration.

The theoretical approaches to development discussed earlier were generally formulated in virtually gender-blind ways, addressing the issue of gender in a constricted way. For example, classical and neo-Marxist theories portray women as part of the production system and examine how women’s work fits into the world economy (Chowdry 1995). As a result, attention is focused on women as workers, as reserve labor, and as producers of workers. Women’s contribution to the survival of the family, community, and society is excluded from the analysis of the whole system. Women’s activities are considered to have simple values because the products, like food on the table, are not sold and are not contributing to the production system. In other words, if women’s work does not contribute to the growth of the economy, it is not considered to be work per se. It is only when women 74 perform additional labor or become active members in the production of additional laborers that their work becomes visible (Peet and Hatwick 1999).

A study by Maria Soledad Lago (1987) in Chile, clearly demonstrated that women’s work and participation in agriculture are conditioned by the forms of capitalist expansion employed and by the specific labor requirements of the dominant regional productive industry. Lago (1987:26) emphasized that the way women “are integrated into production depends on the character of the regional economy, farm size, the availability of land rentals, conditions in the labor market, and the availability of employment for other household members.” However, especially during the hacienda system, even when women worked as laborers on the farm, their work was perceived as an extension of their husbands’ duty and women were subject to the terms of their husbands’ contracts.

Another issue raised by development critics with regard to these development approaches is the distinction between private and public work, the former being associated with women and the latter with men (Scott 1995). Women’s private responsibilities include household chores, child bearing, sexual services, and emotional nurturing. Because development theory, especially Marxist theory, only focus on class struggle, these kinds of responsibilities and/or activities are not considered “work” that is necessary to achieve the overall goal of development.

Essentially, oppression of women in the household is viewed as a secondary problem that can be resolved after class struggle is resolved.

The fact that development is associated with linear growth in modernization and dependency theories (i.e., society has to move from traditional to modern) 75 pressures the system to eliminate any form of being “traditional” (Rostow 1960; Mies

1996). The traditional rural village, for example, is considered as needing to be transformed into a more urban-based economy. This means that men are expected to work outside the home and be responsible for advancing the society. Women, who are associated with the household and rural area, are perceived to be part of the past that needs to be changed in order to facilitate development (Jordanava 1980; Scott

1995). The patriarchal system provides an effective way to control women.

Patriarchy, as defined by Walby, is “a system of interrelated social structures which allow men to exploit women” (in Gordon 1996:18). According to Mies (1988), capitalism would not be able to function without patriarchy because it serves as an instrument for male-dominated economy to oppress women as manifested by women having no choices in their sexual, political, and economic lives. Furthermore, when women are hired in the work place in an effort to increase capitalist profits, the result is not to achieve a personal independence but simply to bring in additional income to the household. Women’s wages (at least during the early stage of industrialization) were usually lower than those of their male counterpart, and their position and responsibilities were commonly associated with clerical jobs ( Eisenstein 1981;

Walby 1986).

Another issue related to modernization theory that is pertinent to the status of women is the adoption by Third World countries of various economic programs geared toward a market economy and commodification of economically viable goods

(e.g., agricultural products). As a consequence, women underwent dramatic changes both in their private and public life and were left to depend on limited resources 76 brought about by the increasing control of men over technologies and the means of production (Momsem 1991; Agarwal 1992). When food production and agricultural activities are transformed into a highly-mechanized, easy to manage endeavor, the technologies only benefit men because technologies, training, and information related to commercial farming were designed for men. Women are left to tend homegardens with their indigenous tools and technologies. Accessibility to seeds and credit is another manifestation of the blindness on gender issue since only the male members of the households are rewarded with land rights and only those who own land can use facilities associated with commercial farming (Sachs 1996). Eventually, women are left to cope with the hardships of subsistence agriculture by themselves or with the support of other women and relatives.

Instead of focusing on improving the production of food crops needed by household members, agricultural policies in Third World countries are directed to the commercialization of a few high-value crops leading to pauperization of the majority of people and biodiversity erosion (Harcourt 1994; Nazarea 1998). Most peasants were driven from their land, making their situation more problematic. Many people were forced to migrate to urban areas where women had to work as domestic helpers, laborers in sweatshops, and prostitutes (Mies 1996). This process not only alienated women from their families but also alienated them from their traditional mode of production.

Although people are adapting to the changes in the Third World, not all features of western development are incorporated in the process. In western societies, the majority of government support programs are distributed across gender, class, and 77 ethnic groups (Agarwal 1992; Rai 1996). Third World countries’ government support programs, especially agricultural incentives, are largely geared toward more powerful groups and mostly dominated by the patriarchal system (Thomas-Slayter and

Rocheleau 1995). The work of Arizpe and Botey (1987) on the agrarian reform program in Mexico best illustrates this case. According to these two scholars, the only beneficiaries of the agrarian reform programs, which started in the early 1900s, were males over age 18 and single women or widows who are supporting a family.

Unless a woman is supporting a family, she is not entitled to own any parcel of land.

It is also interesting to note that “supporting a family” is only a requirement for women, not for men.

Development strategies that only focus on the promotion of industrialization in the Third World also destroy “women-centered production systems” that include homegardens and small-scale enterprises (Escobar 1995). In rural areas, for example, the penetration of modern farming machineries led to the gradual erosion of women’s material base for subsistence production. To cope with the demand of the capitalist system, rural families are forced to sell their land and engage to other income generating activities. Even as a development strategy begins to integrate women into the development process, the core of the projects still focuses on the enhancement of the role of women as “homemakers,” wives, and mothers. Women’s interests and needs are, therefore, linked to poverty alleviation and basic needs programs, casting them in the role of managers in the household and providers of families’ basic needs

(Arizpe and Botey 1987; Kabeer 1994). 78

The integration of women in the work force accelerated when liberal feminists criticize the development paradigm [e.g., Wollstonecraft (1975); Mill

(1984); Eisenstein (1984)]. These scholars believed that women’s emancipation could only be achieved through sexual equality or “gender justice” and pushed to free their gender from jobs that were closely associated with household responsibilities such as nursing, teaching, and clerical work. As a result, women began to occupy positions in different institutions which traditionally were only given to men. This transformation of gender roles uplifted the condition of women in terms of making decisions in the household as well as in having greater control of their social and economic circumstances. A study by Lobato (1997) of women working in meat packaging plants in Argentina showed that the kind of work or responsibilities given to women and men were dictated by their traditional roles in the household. As Lobato pointed out, “women worked in a limited number of sections…, meat cutting, packaging, painting. Unlike men’s skilled jobs in the plant, women’s jobs were characterized by the fact that they were based on skills developed in the home” (1997:61).

Wife beating is another serious problem identified by Tinsman (1997) in her study among working women in rural Chile. Her research revealed that men beat their wives to control their daily schedule and activities. When women were hired in a packing plant, for example, they began managing their own wages, which threatened men’s sense of authority. All these factors resulted in men physically abusing their wives. As more work was appropriated to women, their time for the family diminished, resulting in disruption of family life, and more physical abuse (Tinsman 79

1997). Hence, instead of improving the quality of life of women in Third World nations, development aggravated their condition.

The western ideology regarding women’s empowerment comes specifically from liberal feminist theories which dominate the world view (Acevedo 1995).

Chandra Mohanty (1991) stresses the fact that Third World women have always been

[mis]represented by the First World women who essentialize women of the Third

World and portray them as powerless, passive, poor, and ignorant. Escobar (1995:8) further critiques this as “the perpetuation of the hegemonic idea of the West’s superiority underscoring the systematization of the oppression of women in the Third

World” (1995:8). Much of the discourse from women-in-development emphasizes the merits of incorporating and integrating women into the mainstream of development. This in fact, ignores women’s agencies and capabilities of handling household problems using their own resources (Momsem, 1991; Hirsman 1995;

Chowdry 1995). The following section explains these premises in more detail.

Women and Marginality: The Border Theory

Women have generally been marginalized in different areas and cultures of the world. The level and scale of oppression might vary from one place to another, but the fact remains that as a rule women are the marginalized or the dominated individuals and men comprise the domineering group (Tong 1989). Marginality, as earlier defined, is a discriminated status brought about by the constraining economic conditions. While it is arguably true that Third World women are more marginalized compared with women in the First World, it remains an issue for Third World women 80 that they are always represented and depicted as oppressed, victims, weak and, lacking self determination. Mohanty (1991) emphasizes that Third World countries should be critical in adopting a theory or approach to uplifting the condition of women in the society that is based on experience in the First World. She challenges the way western critics of marginalization address the problem of gender in general and Third World women in particular. Regardless of class, ethnicity, history, and georgraphical location, women are characterized as a homogenous group on the basis of their shared oppression, that of being the victims of patriarchal supremacy, socio- political structure, and capitalism.

While a woman’s behavior is constrained by her social, cultural, political, ethnic, and economic conditions, womens’ experiences vary from one country to another as well as within a country itself. Many countries have evolved through harsh conditions brought about by natural calamities, colonialism, imperialism, and misguided development strategies they have adopted (Enloe 1993). These factors have resulted in diverse coping strategies among women, and it is only appropriate that women and/or gender be studied in their distinct political, historical, and bio- geographical contexts. Emphasizing diversity among women will not destroy the reality that women are generally oppressed (Lerner 1993). Assuming that women are all alike in terms of their needs and aspirations is inaccurate since the role of women within certain power relations and economic or political structures is neglected in the process. It depicts women as sexual-political subjects, who have no agency and are incapable of everyday resistance to the day-to-day problems of inequalities. Ignoring 81 differences among women is similar to adopting development strategies without taking into account the pre-existing condition of a country.

The border theory which was developed primarily to analyze political subdivisions, is now also being used to help understand marginality in a broader perspective. Historically, the border concept has been used in studying areas which are politically subdivided into states such as the Swiss-Italian, Italo-Yugoslav, and the Mexico-US borders (Alvarez 1995; Rumpley and Minghi 1991; Prescott 1987).

However, as internationalization of economies became one of the distinctive features of economic development the concept has also been expanded beyond its strict physical orientation (Mohanty 1991). Today, the border concept is used in all kinds of discourse such as cultural and symbolic meanings, power relations, and forms of resistance (Steadly 1993; Alvarez 1995). Similar to the concept of race, gender, and sexuality, the border theory has become the “playground” of several theorists in contesting power, inequalities, and marginalization as products of change brought about by the development process.

Hannerz (1997) describes “border” as both state-to-state dividing lines and culture-to-culture differences. He also associates border with frontier, where aside from being a geographical space, it also has symbolic meanings and material and metaphorical uses. Barth (1994) expands his view on border or borderlands to relationships among people and how culture and its meanings is dispersed and/or shared. Wilson and Donnan (1998), on the other hand describe borderland as an area, symbolic or real, to study connections between two entities. They see a border as one between cultures and/or geographical areas where spatial and temporal records of 82 relationships between two communities are observed. Gloria Anzuldua (1987) theorizes that people at the borders are in a constant state of transition in which they negotiate levels of subordination and control. Gomez-Pena (1989:44) further defined border as the “multiplicity of voices away from the center.., a juncture not at edge ..,” and a way to look at the past and future at the same time.

Although very similar to the concept of marginality as a place of power and contestation, the border concept goes beyond the notion of marginalization and inequalities. Border theorists describe people in general and women in particular who are at the borders as tending to have greater ability to cross frontiers in order to make connections in both worlds. Through this process of crossing over, “bordered individuals” become more innovative and culturally and economically creative. Yet their skill to appropriate multiple identities--a product of their innovations--remains unacknowledged by the hegemonic culture (Saldivar-Hull 1991). This ability gives bordered persons a better position from which to experiment between core and periphery, and between self and other. Anzuldua (1987) further emphasizes this view when she describes how women at the border develop a tolerance for contradictions and ambiguity, making them more adaptable in terms of decision-making and giving them more latitude in which to agree or contradict the dominant paradigm. She compared the idea of borderland to a hybrid progeny, “with chromosomes constantly crossing over” to produce a “more malleable species with a rich genepool” (1987:79).

Viewed from this perspective, women at the borders are more empowered than those who are either in the mainstream or at the edge of economic gradation. 83

With the proliferation of transnational corporations, characteristic of the contemporary economic system, women are now exposed to other opportunities outside their private world. As a result, women from different economic backgrounds are faced with diverse realities--some benefiting while others become more marginalized. In spite of these discrepancies, many are still at the borders--women who are from one perspective marginalized but are capable of juggling different situations in order to determine their own identities. I discuss the lives of some of these women in the context of an Ecuadorian agricultural frontier and an Andean highland in the following chapter. CHAPTER THREE

GRADIENT OF INTEGRATION: SIX WOMEN’S LIVES

When economic development policies and programs were implemented in Third

World countries after World War II, the objective was to improve conditions for the majority of the populace. Emphasis was placed on increasing the national output through production of goods and services intended for the local market (Elson 1995). Feminist scholars criticize these development approaches as male-biased since the subsistence- oriented labor of women was defined as unproductive and not categorized as work (Mies and Hans Buechler 1997). As a result of feminist critique, development approaches focused on integration and began to target gender equality in terms of giving both men and women equal opportunity to work outside their homes. Recently, Chandra Mohanty

(1991) posited that much of the representation of women from the Third World during this era was based on the assumption that all women were roughly the same and that their problems and needs are the same. While the oppression of women is universal, Mohanty

(1991) argues that treating women as a homogenous category contributes to longstanding characterizations of Third World women as powerless, exploited, and sexually harassed.

Development policies should be designed with an understanding of variations among women’s needs, problems, status, and roles. These vary according to an individual’s religion, culture, and class, as well as other institutional frameworks.

On the basis of the same dominant paradigm, much of history has been written without consideration of women’s experiences and contributions to the overall development of any nation. According to Mary Margaret Steadly (1993), official histories 85 written in this manner are versions of the past and are spoken from a position of power that asserts the right to speak for others. Steadly explains that these kinds of histories exclude people and events thought to be insignificant and unworthy of being told or written about. It was only during the last two decades that publication of women’s stories began, signifying the importance of written records in correcting gaps and misunderstandings of hegemonic masculinist history and in the formation of self identity

(Mohanty 1991). Oral history, personal testimonies, and life history are forms through which history can be rewritten. These forms of written history become fora for contestations and struggle and are sometimes told or written in a vulgar, funny, or magical way, yet they illustrate the realities of women’s lives.

Historically, personal testimonies in the form of oral stories and life histories have been used in Latin American literature to enable women to share their resistance to the social system and promote activism regarding their conditions in the family, community, and country (Logan 1997). In the process, events emphasized were those relevant to political movements such as in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Mexico (see for example

Tirado 1991; Behar 1993). Although testimonies are important in recognizing the contributions of women in fighting for human rights and equality, the ordinary ways they face and solve everyday problems are just as significant. These ordinary lives reflect a day-to-day experience common to many other Latin American women and women in other Third World countries.

The results of life history elicitation are used in this chapter to provide information about the ordinary lives of women in the two Ecuadorian villages and to present what women think about, including their definitions of change and their 86 perceptions of economic development. Norman Denzion (1970) points out that stories are an opening into a person’s life. They are ways through which experiences filled with memories of the past and hopes of the future are accounted for and shared so that other people can learn from them. Personal histories also allow women to describe their situations, interpret the meaning of their everyday lives, and define their identity (Honig

1995). Women’s work, both in the public and private spheres, can also be incorporated into the overall development process through recognition of their stories. Hence, use of this method illustrates changes brought about by development through women’s eyes. It provides us with clues about how women see these changes in relation to their individual lives. Furthermore, using women’s own “words” in presenting their lives reduces any ethnocentric thinking and bias in the research (Sonneshein 1988; Poll 1995).

The small sample of six women in Ecuador was chosen from two villages where these women represent different roles, statuses, and generations in their households and communities. The women also are differentiated based on their degree of integration into the development process. The working definition of development integration for this purpose differs from the traditional view of women’s political, economic, or overall integration in a patriarchal system. For one, the traditional view limits women’s integration in the development process to either the availability of opportunities in the labor market or to the accessibility of serving in public office (Tong 1989). Accordingly, economic and/or political integration in the patriarchal system is viewed as an opportunity for self-motivation and empowerment for women. However, the negative consequences of women’s integration into the economic and political arena are ignored in the process. Moreover, other variables such as age, ethnic background, and class that 87

affect how women can or cannot be part of the whole development agenda are invisible

in the traditional definition of women’s integration. Kabeer (1995) clearly explains this

when she points out that:

… the problem was not that women had not been integrated into development, but that they had been integrated at the bottom of an inherently hierarchical and contradictory structure of production and accumulation… Some of the factors behind women’s subordinate positions were related to the forms of inequality which they systematically created or exacerbated. For poorer women, the results might be overwork and undernourishment.. For wealthier women, concentration on reproductive work might free them from direct class- based exploitation, but generally meant greater economic dependence.

Hence, development impacts individuals differently. This chapter presents the effects of this integration using different variables and the particular historical, socioeconomic, and political processes experienced by women on a day-to-day basis.

The six women presented in this chapter whose names have been changed to protect their identity, range in age from 25 to 60. The women represent various household types and range in locally defined economic classes. Their degrees of social integration range from an “unconcerned” community member to a political figure who decides not only for the community but also for the whole canton. Each woman’s life history is presented based on her experience from childhood to the present time, her private and public roles, and their perceptions of changes in the environment--particularly about government intervention in the community.

Each woman was chosen because she represents a facet of integration into the development process. Some of these women are integrated politically while others are economically integrated. These women’s depictions of their daily realities are 88 representative of other women not only in Ecuador but also in other Third World countries.

The first three women are from La Calera, an indigenous community. Cecilia is a woman who represents a locally defined low- to middle-income family. Although she had little formal education, Cecilia is part of a larger political organization. Her integration into the political party is not based mainly on the conventional method of popular voting.

Rather, she was chosen primarily because of her long history of leading the indigenous people through a powerful local indigenous organization. Lolita, the second woman is the sole owner of a small piece of land and to some extent is integrated into a broader social network through her voluntary work as a health worker. Part of her volunteer assignment involves attending training sessions and workshops in various places, providing Lolita with opportunities to meet people from different economic and social groups. Lolita also represents how extended families in Ecuador affect women’s roles in fulfilling their responsibilities in the household. Estela, the third woman, represents a single mother who is part of a globalized economy because she is a plantation worker in a farm that exports agricultural products. Even though Estela is integrated in a globalized economy, her economic status and position in the community have not changed.

The other three women are from Palmitopamba, a community comprised mostly of mestizos. Mira, a young leader in the village also represents a woman integrated in a political organization but to a lesser degree than Cecilia. Mira is a highly educated woman from a relatively rich family engaged in commercial production. Florencia, the second woman, is a wife and mother who represents a middle-income group. She is incorporated in the market economy through her store in the community. Elena, is a 89

mother who represents women from a low-income family. She and other members of the

family work as laborers on a big farm. Elena also represents a household that is directly

affected by the commercialization the village is undergoing because of the growing

number of sugar refineries and increasing amount of land area devoted to sugarcane

plantations where most of her family members work.

Women in La Calera

La Calera, as mentioned in Chapter 1, is an indigenous community with

predominantly subsistence economy based on agriculture but with heavy outmigration of

males. Women in this area engage in agricultural production and small-scale enterprises

that also contribute to the local economy. The women discussed in the following

paragraphs live in this community.

Cecilia: A Woman of Determination

A daughter of a Cotacachi indigenous couple who worked as laborer in the

hacienda all their lives, Cecilia was born in 1967 in Uschapungu, one of the communities

in Canton Cotacachi. I first met Cecilia when I first arrived in Ecuador in July 1999 to

start my dissertation fieldwork. She was the first person in the Jambi Mascaric1 office to

greet the research team during our first formal meeting. As a respected member of Union

1 An organization funded by the queen of Spain as a part of the project called Medico Sin Frontera. The main objective of this organization is to improve the health condition of people in rural communities. Two years ago, the project ended and Jambi Mascaric was left to continue by itself. 90

de Organizaciones Campesinas Indigenas del Canton Cotacachi (UNORCAC)2, she made

sure that guests and partners of their organization were welcomed.

Because of the very low economic status of her mother and father, Cecilia was

relocated to live with her godparents in Peguchi village, when she was only four years old

so that she could start primary school. When her mother died, she moved back in with

her father in Ushapungu and helped him on the farm. Cecilia became so accustomed to

working on the farm that, at an early age, she discovered new ways to generate family

income by selling homemade cheese and collecting weeds and grasses for animals to be

sold to neighbors. When she was 15 years old, she moved to Quito to work as a

housemaid. She served as a housemaid in different homes until she was 19 years old, the

age when she met her future husband.

Cecilia was 22 and single when she became pregnant with her first child. She

went to Quito to give birth to her child with the help of a friend because her family was

not happy with the situation. Cecilia went back to her partner after she gave birth to their

child, and six months after, he accepted responsibility for the child. During this period,

Cecilia traveled daily to Otavalo to work as a maid, taking care of an elderly couple while

her husband stayed in Cotacachi continuing his education. She later worked in a

restaurant as a cook but because of her lack of education, reading orders and instructions

was a problem that forced her to resign. She looked for another job and eventually found

work in Quito, during which time Cecilia also finished her primary education. She then

tried to learn other skills and enrolled in a handicraft class but was unable to finish

2 The Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi is a non-profit, class-based, second- level organization that aims to eliminate conditions of discrimination and poverty among the majority of indigenous and mestizo people. It is base in the Andean zone of Cotacachi Canton, Imbabura Province, Ecuador. 91 because she became pregnant with her second child. After Cecilia gave birth to their second child, Cecilia’s partner asked her to marry him and live with him in the community of La Calera, where they finally settled.

In La Calera, Cecilia’s family owns a small parcel of land where they cultivate corn, potatoes, and peas. She also maintained a small garden planted with onions, cabbage, and beets. Their house is made of concrete and there are four small rooms; two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. None of the rooms contain any furniture. The kitchen only has a cooking range and small tables. The toilet is located outside the house

Cecilia started working as an extension agent in a reforestation project in

Cotacachi when her youngest son was two years old. While performing her duty as an extension agent, Cecilia was asked to coordinate Jambi Mascaric a “Search for Health”

Center that was put up by Medico Sin Fronteras or Doctors without Borders. Two years after, she was asked to take the highest position in the primary indigenous organization in the community but she declined because of her responsibility in Jambi Mascaric. Local people wanted her to remain the coordinator of the Jambi Mascaric, so she accepted a lower-ranking position in the indigenous organization where she remains up to the present time. Recently, Cecilia also was elected Councilwoman in Canton Cotacachi.

Cecilia’s decision to be part of a bigger political structure was not for her personal ambition but a decision that she made for her people:

If I have a choice, I do not want to be part of this politics. I know this will entail many responsibilities. I am already hooked with my obligations in the organization so I know that I will be busier if I will be elected. However, my people need me. Imagine, I will be the first indigenous woman to be elected. I am not even educated. I want my people to be proud of me. I hope my family will understand this, especially my children. 92

Cecilia’s day usually starts at 4:00 a.m. when she prepares breakfast and lunch for her husband and children. While she cooks, her husband helps to prepare the two children for school by getting out their clothes and combing their hair. As the children eat breakfast, Cecilia prepares herself for work, taking a bath or a “spit bath” from the faucet.

By 7:00 a.m., everybody is ready to leave the house. Cecilia’s husband takes the children to school in the nearby village while Cecilia starts walking to work in Cotacachi.

In Jambi Mascaric, Cecilia stays in the office for a couple of hours then leaves for

UNORCAC to attend numerous meetings. Depending on her meetings and other work- related activities, Cecilia eats lunch between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. usually at one of the small restaurants located at the market. The day’s work usually but not always ends around 6:00 p.m., when she returns home carrying food items that she bought from the market. Once she gets home, she immediately changes into house clothes and starts cooking dinner. Her children usually are not around when she gets home since they spend their afternoons with grandparents who live close by. Cecilia’s day ends at 10:00 p.m., washing the dishes.

As an active member of the indigenous organization, Cecilia is responsible for attending meetings and organizing activities delegated by the president of the organization. She also presides over general assembly meetings where leaders of various organizations in different communities discuss issues pertaining to community problems.

Cecilia also coordinates the activities of Jambi Mascaric, which is now engaged in various community outreach and training activities, aimed at continuing to help improve the health of rural poor indigenous people. To generate funds, the organization’s members raise guinea pigs and cater food under Cecilia’s direction. 93

Being a leader and a member of the La Calera community places Cecilia in an

“awkward” position. La Calera always holds monthly community meetings where men

preside and dominate the discussions and the women, including Cecilia, hardly

participate. Cecilias’ non-participation may be due to the negative treatment she received

in the community in the past, or she is simply following norms established in a

community where women have traditionally been inactive or silent participants in social

meetings.

Despite Cecilia’s integration into a larger political structure, she has not gained

respect in her local community. In fact, her political position sometimes places her in a

socially disadvantageous position. Oftentimes, she is envied by other women3 and

considered a threat by her male counterparts. Cecilia serves as an exemplary case where,

though her political status in the larger canton has improved, that improvement does not

necessarily translate to a greater level of respect from the local community.

Lolita: A Woman of Character

Lolita was born in La Calera 50 years ago. She finished her primary education in

Cotacachi. Lolita lived in La Calera until age 24, when she moved to Cotacachi to live

with the “Salesian Sisters,” a religious organization that recruits young unmarried women

to join them in their religious activities. Later, she moved to a private house where she

worked as a domestic helper for two years before moving to Quito to perform the same

kind of job. After five years of living away from La Calera, Lolita returned to the

3 A woman whom I interviewed mentioned that Cecilia is working for UNORCAC not because she wants to serve the indigenous communities but because she is being paid by international organizations. Some people in La Calera even mentioned that UNORCAC is using the indigenous people to get money from international agencies to cater to their personal needs. 94 community at her mother’s request. While back in La Calera, she engaged in poultry raising. When she was 29 years old, Lolita moved back to Cotacachi to live with the

Salesian Sisters again for 12 years before returning to La Calera. She worked as a teacher in a kindergarden for two years until she was asked to resign because she did not have the proper credentials. She next concentrated on farming and became a health volunteer. As a health care volunteer, Lolita visits patients in the community and provides medication at minimum cost. She also attends meetings and training sessions sponsored by Jambi

Mascaric.

Lolita owns a house that she shares with her mother and an adopted sister and her family. Although the house looks fairly large from the outside—with concrete walls and a typical tile roof--- once inside, a visitor will see visible signs of poverty. The largest of the four rooms is the receiving room, which has two beds and a small table located near the door. The kitchen is also part of this big room where there are no chairs, no stove or other kitchen appliances. Lolita cooks in the corner of the kitchen, using two big rocks and two steel rods atop of two rocks. Many dried twigs, leaves, small trunks, and corn stalks, in the center of the room will be used as fuel for the stove. At the side of the stove is a pen for four guinea pigs that are fed freshly-cut grass daily. Lolita hangs the milk, cooked food, and vegetables on a long thin tree trunk hung across the room to prevent the cats and dogs from eating them. Some old jars in the corners of the kitchen serve as the cabinets where Lolita stores her uncooked vegetables, salt, sugar, and oil.

The next room serves as a big storeroom where clothes, photos, and supplies such as soap, blankets, and towels are kept. Unfolded clothes are scattered all over the floor, and dogs sometimes sleep on them for warmth. Empty cardboard boxes, some filled with 95 clothes also litter on the floor. The third room is where Lolita’s adopted sister and her family live. It has two beds, a cabinet with a stereo, a television, and a cooking range in the corner. In this room, too, clothes are scattered all over the place. The room smells of urine, probably because of the baby. Corn seeds are also stored in this room, and corncobs are often hung from the ceiling.

The fourth room is Lolita’s teaching room and clinic, where she keeps the medicine for her patients. Some posters about giving birth dot the walls. Outside there is a pigpen close to the outhouse. Lolita’s garden is located immediately behind the house, and when nothing is planted in the garden, her cows and pigs are allowed to roam in that space.

During the three months that Lolita worked as my research assistant, I was able to observe her everyday routine. Oftentimes when I came to fetch her, she had not completed her chores, so I usually sat in one corner of her house and observed her activities. Lolita began each morning by walking her three cows to the other side of her farm where there is more pasture land. Afterwards, she prepared feed for her five pigs and moved two of them outside while the rest were kept inside the pen. She cleaned the pigpen daily by shoveling and placing pig waste in a pile of compost located outside.

Lolita owns one hectare of land, cultivated with corn, beans, potatoes, and peas.

The agricultural product is mainly for her family’s consumption. Sometimes she sells a small percentage of the produce in order to buy household items such as salt, sugar, and soap. Seeds for corn and bean crops are saved from the previous season while potato tubers are bought from a store in Otavalo. She typically prepares the land using the traditional wooden plow (yunta). When Lolita has money, however, she rents a tractor for 96

$ 10.00 a day. She prefers to rent a tractor because she can complete the job with it two

or three times faster than hiring someone with a cow. Food is also included in the

package for hired laborers while it is not needed with the tractor. Lolita observed that

agricultural production has changed in general:

Now, people are preparing the land well. They are now using fertilizer because if they don’t use fertilizer, they wont have any harvest. Before, people were not using any fertilizer because the soil was very fertile. The produce from all crops was very good. All types of cultivated crops matured well. Now, soil has to be prepared well before applying fertilizer. We are still using organic fertilizer and I don’t think anybody in this community has started using chemical fertilizer. But still, the soil has changed.

As an active member of the women’s organization called Sisa Pacari4, Lolita is in charge of taking care of 12 piglets and the two mother pigs. Sponsored by the government of Spain, this work is part of the animal dispersal project. It includes the construction of pig houses, some feeds, and follow-up check-ups from the government veterinarians. Only five women are currently involved in the pig raising project.

However, Lolita is the only one who takes care of the piglets and performs other chores needed to maintain the project. She said that all the others donated money to buy the animal feed instead of providing labor.

Lolita also takes care of her adopted sister, Mia, who is epileptic and experiences seizures about once a month.5 She sometimes hurts her children during epilepsy attacks.

Lolita insists that Mia and her children continue living with her so she can look after them all.

4 This organization is not presently active because all the members are busy in their respective household chores. In the past, the members used to get involved in community activities such as helping in the preparation of community festivities. 5 I witnessed one of the attacks that lasted for two hours during which Mia vomited and walked all over the house howling. One of her children got scared and started crying. 97

Estela: A Woman Caught in Time

Estela was born in La Calera, 26 years ago. Estela spent most of her childhood in

La Calera. When she was 13 years old, she migrated to Quito to work as a housemaid for

five years until she became pregnant and moved back to La Calera to have the baby. She

has lived in the village ever since. During the first years of living with her mother, Estela

was unemployed, and her mother helped in supporting Estela’s son. Estela’s mother,

who is separated from her husband, makes hats and bracelets that she sells in Cotacachi

on Saturdays and Sundays. Although life is still not easy for the family these days, it was

tougher during the years when Estela’s mother was working alone. Estela lives with her

mother and her three sons-ages 6, 4, and two months. Estela has remained single. She

does not regret past events in her life, nor the fact that she has three children fathered by

different men. She emphasized however, that it is very hard to raise children on her own.

She mentioned that the father of her children offered to give her money twice a month to

support his son but this rarely happens. When asked about her relationships with these

men, Estela said that she prefers to raise her children alone than to live with a man who is

physically abusive. Wife-beating in this community might not be considered a major

problem, but some women suffer from their husbands’ battering.6 When asked about the

situation, the women’s only reply was that it is part of their culture. This problem is more

apparent when husbands are drunk.

To support her children, Estela works an eight-hour shift for three dollars a day.

After a small breakfast of only coffee and a piece of bread, Estela’s work begins with a

6 It is evident that wife-beating, although a problem, is something that women in this village do not want to talk about. During a group discussion, when asked about problems in the community, the wife beating was the first to be mentioned. However, when asked to elaborate on this, women said that it is not a problem. 98

30-minute walk to the plantation. Her responsibilities vary from cutting the stems of roses

to packaging flowers that are exported to the United States and Japan. Estela mentioned

that the daily harvest in the plantation, usually ranges from 8000 to 9000 stems of roses.

Estela usually takes a bath immediately after work each day so that she does not

expose her children to the chemicals being utilized on the plantation that are absorbed

into her clothing.7 On her day off on Sundays, Estela usually spends the day with her

children and keeps busy with household chores that include washing clothes and cleaning

the house. During special events such as festivities in the community, Estela is always

visible. She stays late at night at parties, dances, and sometimes drinks with her friends

while her children are cared for by her mother. On such occasions, Estela always wears

traditional clothing, which she does not wear when she works on the plantation. She

usually wears jogging pants or old pants to work. When she wears the indigenous clothes

to parties, however, she integrates items from western culture. She wears heeled sandals

instead of the “paragatas” (a type of flat-heeled sandals, made of black cloth for women

and white for men), and her hair is sometimes loose on her back instead of being tied

with a piece of cloth as is customary for women. On ordinary weekends, Estela spends

time sitting on the playground with other women her age. She also attends community

meetings but never contributes to any discussion. During meetings, men usually lead the

discussion and argue with each other. Normally, women just sit on the ground, discussing

the issue among themselves but not in the open with the men.

Estela’s mother’s house is at the center of the village, in front of the public

playground. The house is approximately six by six meters and has four rooms. The

7 The chemicals are used to kill insects attacking the young plants and clean boxes in which the roses will be placed and exported to other countries. 99

livingroom, which contains no furniture, is located adjacent to one of the bedrooms,

which has one bed, a sewing machine, and a small table. The next room serves as second

bedroom and storage room, where dried corn is hung from the ceiling. The fourth room

serves as the kitchen with an extension outside where they cook the food. The bathroom

is located outside. They also have a big traditional oven made of cement, where they used

to bake bread to sell in the local market. Her mother discontinued using the oven because

she can no longer perform the task in her old age. Bread making is only done during All

Soul’s Day. Although Estela is a single mother, her children treat her in the same manner

as other children from a family where both parents are present. This can be because

Estela’s mother helps her in different chores like feeding, and grooming them, and

attending to the children’s needs. Another possible explanation is that in this village, a

majority of households do not have fathers because most men are working outside the

community. Hence, children are raised mainly by mothers. The only difference in

Estela’s case is that she does not receive the financial assistance that the married women

get from their husbands. As Estela pointed out:

It is difficult to live by myself, the fathers of my children are not giving any kind of support. They are not giving any support in terms of clothes for the children or money for my children’s education. However, I prefer to live alone, that is, without any husband because then I won’t be physically abused. I used to experience that. It is hard to raise my children alone but I prefer it that way.

Women in Palmitopamba

The other research site is inhabited predominantly by mestizos. Three women

were also chosen from this community because they represent various ways where 100 women are integrated or not integrated into the development process. There are parallel situations that I observed in this area and in La Calera.

Mira: A Woman Who Leads

Mira, 26, is the leader of the community. She is easy to recognize physically because Mira is 5”8’ in height, with curly blonde hair. Blue jeans or jogging pants are her everyday clothes. Mira’s family is considered one of the richest families in the village, owning approximately 34 hectares of land planted with sugarcane, pineapple, and cassava. They also raise cattle on four hectares primarily for the source of milk for the family.

When she was four years old, Mira and her siblings were taken to Quito to start their education. Mira stayed in Quito until she finished a pre-law education two years ago. Having a higher educational background could be one reason why Mira was elected as the leader of the community. According to her, the former president asked her help to improve the situation of the community and she agreed to do so by accepting the responsibility to serve as its representative. As Mira pointed out “I decided to accept the position of being a leader in this community because I thought Palmitopamba needs some changes”. She then became an active leader of the village, mostly organizing social events that generate income such as “fiestas”, usually consisting of dancing and drinking where all attendees are charged a certain amount of money, or making legal papers for 101

the people in the community.8 According to Mira, being the president has not been an

easy job:

Being a president was a difficult job especially during the first year of my leadership. People were not thinking about the same issues that I was. People who were unwilling to help, influenced other people not to participate. I am giving all my time and money, and still some people are not participating.

One possible reason why some do not participate in her projects and why her

family is not generally liked by the other members of the community is the fact that Mira

spends weekdays in Quito and only weekends and special holidays in the community.

Her mother said Mira is looking for a job in Quito. As a result, her brother and/or parents

have taken over the management of the community, although this action was not agreed

upon by the community members.

Other members of the community see Mira’s family as controlling the politics in

Palmitopamba. During some community meetings, Mira’s older brother leads the

discussion, and when there are some conflicts among members of the community, Mira’s

parents sometimes act as arbiters. Some families dislike the way this family dominates

the politics in the community, others appreciate what Mira’s family is doing for the

village, and there are those who could not care less about the situation.

Although Mira is the president of Palmitopamba, she does not socialize with the

other members of the community. When she is in the village, she either stays at home,

helps her mother in the store and in cleaning the house, or if her other siblings who live in

Quito are visiting, plays volleyball with them in the communal house. Very seldom

8 One example of this is when she was asked to make a will of testament for an old woman who suffered from hypertension. Mira was asked to type a document stating how the woman’s land will be divided among her children. 102 can she be seen in the public areas such as football field, particularly when there are football games, or hanging out in other stores where people usually go on weekends. One probable reason might be that few individuals in her age bracket live in Palimitopamba.

The usual ages of the people in the community are either younger or older.

Her mother’s two-story house, where she stays when she is in Palmitopamba is constructed of wood. The first floor has three major rooms. The two biggest rooms—the living/dining room and the store—are the same size. The living/dining room has furniture including a sofa, a large dining table and chairs and few large paintings on the walls. The other room, the kitchen, has furniture and appliances including a large refrigerator, a microwave, and a big oven. The upper floor has four bedrooms. The store contains many items including groceries and gift items, but clothing is the dominant item sold.

Florencia: The Working Mother

Señora (Sra.) Florencia owns the other store in the community in which the only telephone in the village is located. Sra. Florencia is 43 years old. She has four children and has been living in Palmitopamba for 25 years. Three of her children are married and live in Quito. The youngest who is 11 years old, also spends most of her time in Quito, where she attends school. She returns to Palmitopamba during school breaks. Florencia spent most of her youth in Santa Lolita, a nearby village, where she helped out on her parents’farm. When she was 18 years old, her family moved to Palmitopamba.

Sra. Florencia rises about 5:00 a.m. or earlier to bake fresh bread that is sold in the store, which usually opens at 6:30 a.m.. After baking breads, she prepares breakfast and stays in the store from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Throughout the day, she sell various 103 items to the local people and answers the public telephone. Villagers go to her store to call or wait for a call from a relative who is working outside the community. While waiting for their turn to make or receive a phone call or to be attended to by Sra.

Florencia or her husband, Sr. Fausto, in the store, people talk with one another about various issues in the community including upcoming events, people who are sick, and the current prices of sugarcane and its processed products.

Sra. Florencia goes to Quito once a week, usually to replenish the store and to visit her children there. Community members know when she is in Quito because the voice that is heard on the loud speaker to call someone to come to the phone booth9 is that of her husband, Sr. Fausto. Her husband or their store helper meets her at the bus terminal to help her unload the groceries, which include bags of rice, sugar, corn, and potatoes and bring them into their store. Her mother, who lives nearby, is also waiting to give some help.

Sra. Florencia and her husband also farm on a 14-hectare property located on the outskirts of the village. They cultivate tomatoes, corn, beans, bananas, luffa (Luffa spp.) and sugarcane. The first three are utilized at home while about 90 percent of the latter two crops are sold in the local store or in Quito. Approximately 70 percent of the land is allotted for sugarcane, while the remaining 30 percent is distributed among the rest of the crops. Pasture land occupies the second biggest land area while both she and her husband decide on what crops to cultivate, her husband is in charge of the farm. Sra. Florencia buys the planting materials from Quito or from a man who comes to the village from

Ibarra. Because of a problem with pests, they use pesticides bought in Quito. Sra

9 A loud speaker was installed at the center of the village to call people who have phone calls and to make announcements for meetings and when a family will be butchering a cow or a pig to sell. 104

Florencia complains that they have to spend more money to produce the crops. As Sra.

Florencia explained:

All the members of the family help on the farm. For example, my husband, myself, and my children participate in planting. But when my children are attending school, they cannot help on the farm. They usually help when they are on vacation, when they are back here in Palmitopamba. We do not hire laborers because we cannot afford to pay them.

During peak season, Sr. Fausto works all day on the farm while Sra. Florencia operates the store. When farm activities are limited, both the husband and wife tend the store.

House condition is difficult to use as an indicator of economic status in

Palmitopamba. Except for houses of families who are considered extremely poor, almost all houses in this village look similar, especially from the outside. For example, Sra.

Florencia’s house resembles the house of Mira or Don Alberto who are considered rich families in the village. Sra. Florencia’s house is a two-story wooden building. The first floor consists mainly of the store, dining hall, and the kitchen. The second floor has three bedrooms. Every night a videotaped movie is shown for the community members to watch. Most of the older people hang out in Sra. Florencia’s store while the youth hang out in the other store and play billiard. Sra. Florencia appears to be a better-liked person than the owner of the other store, as inferred from the social network analysis discussed in Chapter 5.

Elena: A Woman of Few Words

Sra. Elena is a 53-year-old woman who rarely leaves her property unless there are important tasks that need doing. She is always busy doing household chores or cultivating her garden. She also goes to help her husband in the farm especially during peak season. 105

She has lived in Palmitopamba all her life. She lived with her parents when she was still

single, spending most of her childhood on the family sugarcane plantation, helping her

parents in all farm chores particularly in making brown sugar. Sra. Elena has seven

children ranging in age from 13 to 34. She goes to Quito from time to time to visit her

children, who moved there when they got married or to buy some necessities for home.

Three of her children still live at home, while one of the married daughters lives close by.

One of her daughters who is 19 years old, works in a factory that makes brown sugar. Her

husband, who is 56 years old, is always working on the farm or another sugarcane

plantation.

Sra. Elena owns a small piece of land, approximately ¾ hectare, where her family

has cultivated sugarcane, cassava, banana and few fruit trees including guanabana

(Psidium guajava), lemon (Citrus aurantium) and avocado (Percea americana). In fact,

Sra. Elena mentioned that: “only the climate has changed. In terms of plants, they are still the same plants that we used to cultivate since my parents’ time. Nothing has changed except it is now warmer.” Because it is costly to hire laborers and use fertilizer, all the members of the family help on the organic farm. All of the produce raised on the farm is for consumption except for sugarcane, which is sold for processing. Her family no longer processes sugarcane because of the capital required. One of Elena’s daughters worked in a factory in Quito when she was 14 years old to help the family financially. She returned to Palmitopamba when she turned 19 and she has been living with her parents since then.

Although the family of Sra. Elena is considered to belong in a low-income group, the condition of her wooden house is relatively good. It is divided into two main parts, which are physically separated. The receiving room and bedrooms are located in the main 106 section, and the smaller section houses the kitchen. The receiving room is furnished with a sofa, tables, and a stereo. The kitchen has a table, chairs and a refrigerator. The land that surrounds the house is covered with many different plants ranging from ornamental to fruit-bearing trees. Both Sra. Elena and her daughter maintain the house and the garden.

Various Recipes of Integration

The stories of six Ecuadorian women presented in this chapter illustrate the diversity of women’s lives as well as how they are integrated or not integrated in the development process. Although many of these women share some experiences such as the indifference of community members to those who became integrated in politics, and respect to those who are providing some sort of service and financial support, different variables make each woman a unique case for the analysis of development integration.

These variables include level of political integration, economic status, extent of social networks, household relationships, dynamics in community integration, individual personalities, and perceptions of and experience in development. Some of the six women share these variables while others do not.

When Third World women were first integrated into the development process, a number of approaches were implemented. One was the social welfare approach, where women were considered as simple housewives and mothers, and programs implemented included nutritional training, child and health care, and family planning programs (Moser

1989). Boserup (1970) criticized this approach since the integration of women in development only emphasized their role in the households. During this period, women 107 began to question gender roles as defined and assigned by the society. As a result, the anti-poverty and equity approach was implemented, focusing on equal opportunities for both genders. (Kabeer 1995; Chowdry 1995). Equal education and training was provided to men and women. However, this method of integration was still rooted in small-scale production, on family farms where women were charged with providing basic needs for the family and helping and alleviating poverty in the Third World countries such as those in Latin America.

In Peru, for example, women’s participation came about when grassroot groups became active in trying to change the economic conditions of the rural poor by changing in the political system. Different rural women’s organizations, including “Mothers’

Club,” “People’s Kitchens,” and “Glass of Milk,” were formed to address poverty issues

(Blondet 1995). Women from middle-income groups also participated in social movements where issues pertaining to abortion and government policies were the target of emancipation. In Chile, where women are now actively involved in schools, the workplace, unions, and NGOs, they began struggling against dictatorship to improve the condition of working women (Frohmann and Valdes 1995). The ongoing involvement of women in political struggle brought the increased level of institutionalization and professionalization of women’s integration into politics. Brazilian women started their involvement in the struggle for equality of opportunities for both men and women, particularly in education, health services, and incorporation in government projects

(Alvarez 1990).

Although these political struggles helped women in Latin America to achieve the specific goals of providing equal opportunities for women, feminist scholars still 108 contested the impact of such integration on women outside the privacy of their homes.

Women’s integration into the public sphere often conflicts with society’s “values,” particularly in the Third World, where women are expected to stay at home and attend to their families’ needs (Martelo 1996). Also, as a result of this kind of integration, women are now experiencing more responsibilities, both in private and public work, giving them less time for sleep, rest, and leisure (Pitkin and Bedoya 1997).

Two women presented in this chapter clearly illustrate this situation. Cecilia in

Cotacachi and Mira in Palmitopamba are two women who are directly involved in politics, the former holding a position at the municipal level and the latter holding a position at the community level. Between the two, Cecilia is more involved. Prior to her present position, Cecilia led the indigenous communities for three years as an active member of an indigenous organization and the leader of Jambi Mascaric. In observing her roles in public and private spheres, it is hard not to notice ironies of multiple realities in

Cecilia’s life. In her private life, Cecilia still performs the conventional responsibilities associated with women. After her busy day in work, she still cooks meals for the family, washes the laundry, cleans the house, and maintains the family garden/farm.

Since Cecilia became a councilor in canton Cotacachi, her husband, who used to help her in household chores and in taking care of their children, started to neglect these responsibilities. In fact, her husband now spends his weekends drinking in the local store rather than spending it with his family. Furthermore, when Cecilia was campaigning for the election, her husband did not help her in any way. When she won and gave a speech about how hard it is to perform both her duty as a mother/wife and as a leader, her husband who was standing close to me, commented that she was never a wife or a mother 109 to her family. This behavior can be explained by the fact that in the Andes, men still believe that they should always have higher political positions than their wives. As shown by Bourque and Waren (1981), in Peru men view their dominance as natural and extensive, with their control over women not limited to the public realm. Hence, Cecilia’s newly acquired position threatens her husband’s position in the community. This is further corroborated by the comments made by some women interviewed for this study:

The situation of women in La Calera has not changed. There is much machismo going on. Husbands do not allow their wives to go out to work and they don’t allow them to make decisions. Daughter, 25 years old.

I think that men and women are on the same position in this community. However, machismo still exists here, hence women are still in the house while men are on the road. Same thing in my family but not as bad as in other families. Daughter, 19 years old

Although Mira does not lead a large community and is not married, she also experiences problems obtaining the cooperation of members of her community. Her family is the subject of envy and its members are often accused of heavy meddling.

Cecilia never got any support from her community when she was campaigning either.

In Cotacachi, individuals can be nominated for a government position through the votes of various community leaders in a general assembly. In March of 2000, it happened that when the body was voting for a person to run as a councilor, two were chosen from

La Calera --Cecilia and a male who received his education in Quito. All communities except for La Calera voted for Cecilia. People in La Calera mentioned that Cecilia was not fit as a councilor because she is already holding various positions in the indigenous organization. Nonetheless, Cecilia was chosen to run as a councilor by the majority of the indigenous people and by the mestizo population and was able to win in the election. 110

When I asked her about her reaction to the way her own community treated her, Cecilia simply acknowledged that working with La Calera people has always been difficult. She also suggested that people from her community prefer to have a male representative.

Cecilia and Miras’ problems are not isolated cases. Many women, not only in

Ecuador but also in other Third World countries, experience the same problem of being doubly burdened once they begin to engage in non-traditional activities such as being a community leader. Pitkin and Bedoya (1997) explain that women in Ecuador still remain responsible for the majority of the household work--even if they have other responsibilities outside their homes.

Two other women presented here have maintained a good rapport with the rest of the people in the community. Lolita, who is from the indigenous community, does not have the same authority that Cecilia has, but she does also commands some respect from her community as a health volunteer. When people come to her house to seek advice or to ask for medicine to treat a sick family member, Lolita gives her services freely without asking for monetary compensation. Because of the economic condition of the people in this community, Lolita’s free services earned her the respect of the local people that is usually reserved for local officials. Similarly, Sra. Florencia is well-liked in the community because she is also helpful. She gives credit in her store while this is not practiced in other stores. In the process, Sra. Florencia gains loyal customers. By allowing credit, Sra. Florencia builds trust from other members of the community. In the long run, this practice gives her an economic advantage by increasing the number of her customers. Sra. Florencia actually has more customers than the other store in the village, which is located nearby. The majority of her customers are older people. 111

The other two women, Elena and Estela, although not as alienated from their respective communities as Cecilia and Mira are, do not get the same kind of respect that

Sra. Florencia and Lolita receive. Both women are busy fulfilling their household responsibilities and seldom attend community meetings. According to Campana (1996) and Martelo (1996), women in Latin America are always torn between their domestic and public tasks, which complicate their lives. In order to avoid this complication, some women such as Elena and Estela choose not to abandon their domestic sphere including their income-generating activities and prefer not to take on public roles.

Although Cecilia and Mira play a major role in the decision-making process of their respective communities, projects with which they are associated are connected more closely with health, women’s handicraft activities, and improvement of the educational system. In fact, Cecilia’s platform focused on these aspects during her campaign. This is not to say that projects and activities such as these are unimportant. In fact, contributions that are associated with being a “mother” are now valued while in the past these kinds of responsibilities were always considered as an extension of household work and therefore not contributing to the overall development of the community (Mies and Buechler 1997).

Furthermore, in the past, raising and nurturing children, taking care of the house, and producing/cultivating for subsistence purposes are not taken into account since they are non-commoditized processes (Elson 1995).

Helen Icken Safa (1995) explains that for Latin American women, it is their role as mothers and wives that drives them to fight for justice since they cannot perform these roles effectively because of the rising cost of living and the eroding quality of life. Hence, women’s struggle in Latin America redefines their domestic role as not just a private 112

effort but as a collective, public protest that gives a new meaning to their work in the

household and in the public sphere. Cecilia, for example, emphasizes and prioritizes

health improvement, education of children, and training rural women in handicrafts, all

these activities validate women’s concerns commonly associated with the home.

Ecuador’s National Development Plan for 1996-2005 also highlights the value of women

in attaining development. The plan focuses a specific section on incorporating women in

politics. Improvement in socioeconomic conditions, health, education, and elimination of

gender discrimination, including violence against women, are among the development

priorities.

Sometimes, however, policies are more easily formulated than implemented. In

one instance, eight women from La Calera attended a meeting sponsored by the national

government supposedly to train them in crop cultivation. Three women from Quito

arrived almost two hours late to conduct the session at the municipal office. Based on

their physical appearance--high-heeled shoes and trendy outfits-- these women belong to

urban-based high-income families. When the training activity started, the focus was not

on women’s agricultural crop cultivation but on flower plantations and the kinds of

benefit rural people could get from such a project if implemented.10 The supposed

training was actually a focused group interview conducted by the Quito women, who did

not bother to go to rural communities to conduct their research. After almost two hours of

questions and answers, the facilitators asked the women to leave the room so they could

start individual interviews. The waiting women were provided with a glass of soda and a

10 I later found out that a flower plantation project had been proposed to be implemented in Cotacachi. However, the women at the training pointed out that they do not want this type of project in their communities because of its negative impact on the soil and on the health of the people. 113 bag of chips while the interviews continued until around 3:00 pm. This is an example of how women who are supposed to implement a development project become agents of commercialization and how they use training venues to undertake research to fulfill one requirement of the funding agency. This is an example of what Mohanty (1991) called the perpetuation of hegemonic ideology--in this case perpetuated using the elite group of women from the urban area. It further underscores the misconception that women from rural areas need women from urban areas to help solve their problems and parallels how women in the Third World are misrepresented by women in the First World.

Economic Gradient

The economic conditions of women in Cotacachi and Nanegal significantly influence the activities they engage in and their positions in the family and the community. The communities of La Calera and Palmitopamba differ not only in terms of their dominant ethnicity—indigenas and mestizos--but also in the dominant mode of production.

Although both communities are agriculturally based, crop cultivation in the two areas varies in content and scale. La Calera mainly produces corn, potatoes, beans, and peas for home consumption while Palmitopamba dedicates the majority of its land for sugarcane cultivation for export to larger markets outside of the community. In La

Calera, the scale of production is similar among the three women interviewed. They all cultivate crops that are utilized entirely for subsistence. Nobody sells any portion of their produce, but they share a portion with their friends and neighbors, especially when production is good. 114

On the other hand, the three women in Palmitopamba cultivate crops such as vegetables and medicinal plants for home consumption, but in addition, they also produce crops such as sugarcane for the market. Sugarcane is sold as a raw material for processing brown sugar or liquor. The degree of commercialization varies among the three women.

Mira’s family11 allocates almost eight hectares for sugarcane production and sells all of their produce. The majority of the residents in the community sell their sugarcane locally-

- to the people who own the local processing plants. Mira’s family, however, sells the entire produce in Quito because sugarcane commands a higher price there. The number of processing plants is moderately increasing in Palmitopamba. In 1999, there were only five processing plants, three of them small-scale. Eight more processing plants were built in the next year, resulting in a much larger demand for raw materials. More and more farmers dispose their produce in Palmitopamba because the seller does not have his/her own truck to transport the produce, it will be costly if not impossible to sell it in Quito.

Mira’s family owns several pick-ups and a truck that enable them to eliminate middlemen. Sra. Florencia also sells her sugarcane locally and cultivates another crop for commercial production. Her family also grows luffa and sells it in Quito. Unlike Mira’s family, Sra. Florencia does not have her own private transportation. A middle person buys the produce in the village and transports it to Quito. While the transportation cost lowers the profits, Sra. Florencia reasoned that it is still possible to make a profit because not many people cultivate luffa.

None of the women in La Calera whose life history is included here own a piece of land that is bigger than one hectare. Cecilia and Lolita each own approximately a

11 I deliberately use Mira’s family instead of just Mira because Mira herself does not own any piece of land. She still depends on her parents in a lot of things including housing. She however, helps in the farm. 115 hectare of land while Estela does not have any land but helps her mother in maintaining their less than a hectare garden. The problem on acquiring land does not seem to be associated with patriarchy or male dominance. The problem emanates from the economic limitation of the family. All women claimed that anybody can own any piece of land as long as they have money to buy it. In fact, one young woman who I interviewed mentioned that the farm that she is cultivating is her own. She purchased land using her salary savings whereas her older brother does not have any land because he could not afford to buy one. When I asked her about her parent’s property and how it will be distributed among them, she said that she will be given her share even if she already has her own land. Lolita, single, is another example wherein male representation or presence is not needed to own a property. Lolita purchased her land when she was 28 years old and she has been tilling it ever since. This condition is a notable exception to the generalization that women in the Third World are restricted from owning a parcel of land unless their husbands or fathers purchased the land for them (see for example Martelo

1996).

Although husbands and/or fathers participate in decision making in these two communities and perhaps in other communities as well, indigenous women were historically entitled to own a piece of land and to participate equally with men in agricultural production. In fact, this situation is not only true for Ecuador but for Peru and

Bolivia as well (Stark 1984; Hamilton 1992). This status of women is maintained up to the present time, particularly in situations where men are not always present to make decisions for the family. However, there are still situations where subordination of women occurs as illustrated by the study by Marisol de la Cadena (1995) in 116

Chitampampa, Peru. Cadena (1995) found out that women occupy an inferior position in the household and are verbally and physically abused by their husbands. Cadena highlighted that gender equality in this community and in other traditional villages was destroyed by the penetration of market economy that started the marginalization of women. However, since La Calera still predominantly relies on subsistence economy, many traditional values are still maintained and nurtured.

Aside from working in the farm and in the garden, only half of these six women have jobs. Cecilia, Mira, and Estela are engaged in public service, private employment, and a plantation wage labor, respectively. Lolita is a volunteer worker and a farmer. The rest of the women are occupied in maintaining their respective farms. One runs her own store.

Production Gradient

The study by Sarah Hamilton (1992) in Colta and Guamote, Ecuador showed that

80 percent of the women in these two areas considered themselves as farmers. Similarly, women in La Calera are the main cultivators in the village because the majority of the men migrate to work to other areas including Quito and other countries. This migration behavior will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter five but it is worth noting here that male migration is one important reason why women in this indigenous community have significant role in farming. Historically, both men and women had equal participation in farming. But because their husbands are not always present at home, women become the major, if not the sole decision makers in the family. However, if given the option, women prefer that men stay in the village to help them in the farm, as this statement illustrates: 117

I decide on what crops to cultivate. Men usually just give money that will be used in the farm. Men go and work outside hence women are left to make decisions. I prefer that men work here, for example in the farm, so that there is no need for them to go to other countries to find work. Mother, 32 years old

Even if husbands work only in the neighboring towns (e.g., Cotacachi centro), they still have little participation in agricultural production, particularly in deciding what crops to cultivate and when to plant and to harvest the crops. Men usually work as laborers in the municipal office (e.g., garbage collector, construction worker), or in big farms located in nearby towns. They leave early in the morning and go home late every night. Usually, men’s contribution in the farm is only during major activities like land preparation and harvesting. Among the women whose lives I discussed here, Cecilia, is the only one married and active outside the home yet she still plays a major role in cultivating their land. Although her husband helps in the land preparation, planting, and harvesting,

Cecilia still makes the decisions and deals with the everyday problems of farming.

However, with the recent changes in her life, Cecilia is having problems in maintaining the farm. Her homegarden, planted with various crops like carrots, onions, tomato, and cauliflower, is now at the bottom of work priorities and time allocation. Weekends, the time when Cecilia normally attends to the garden, is now spent working for the organization and the municipality as well as getting household chores done. The situation for the other two women, Lolita and Estela, is different. Lolita’s garden is integrated in her whole farm, where she maintains a number of crops including corn, beans, peas, squash of two varieties, and some medicinal plants. Estela as mentioned earlier, is helping her mother in their small garden which has diversified crops such as cauliflower, peas, carrots, onions, tomato, sugarcane, and corn. 118

In Palmitopamba, both males and females participate equally in farming. Because the major crop, sugarcane --is cultivated mainly for commercial purposes, all family members can work in the field or as laborers either in other plantations or in processing plants. Isalda, Elena’s daughter, has been working in a factory that makes brown sugar for three years. Although Isalda does not help in the farm, she helps her family by providing additional income from her work. Except for Mira, the women described here actively participate in the decision making pertaining to farming operations. The only reason why Mira is not actively participating is because she still does not have any land of her own. As for Sras. Florencia and Elena, both have active roles in deciding what crops to cultivate. The household, however, is still their domain. As explained by Kabeer

(1995), the incorporation of women in the patriarchal and capitalist system imply more responsibilities for women over-all since they have to perform both their traditional roles since pre-colonial era and their new roles as active agents of the global economy. One consequence of this “double burden” is that the amount of time and energy left for women to pursue conservation of biodiversity in their fields and gardens is drastically reduced. The homegardens of Florencia and Mira are not as diversified as the garden of

Elena. Very few crops are planted in their backyard gardens. Elena’s garden, on the other hand, is surrounded with various plants for everyday needs. Like Cecilia, Florencia and

Mira claimed that they do not have much time to attend on their gardens anymore. Sra.

Florencia is busy keeping the store and helping her husband in the farm. Mira, on the other hand, does not stay in the village and her mother, who used to be the main caretaker of the garden, is busy attending to the bigger plots allotted for commercial production. 119

It can be concluded from the above discussion that only women who still have lesser role in commercial agriculture or the wider public sphere tend to maintain a more diversified garden. This situation is not only happening in these two Ecuadorian villages but I also observed this happening in the Philippines (Piniero 1991). I noticed that when women become involved in a male-dominated system such as politics, as in the case of

Cecilia of La Calera, or in a market economy such as Mira and Florencia of

Palmitopamba, homegardens and/or subsistence farming tends to suffer because less and less time is spent in the garden. A more in-depth explanation of this phenomenon is offered in Chapter 5 where time allocation by each woman was documented and analyzed using the time-recall activity method.

Development Projects: Women’s Perceptions and Attitude

The discourse that plays around women’s marginality in the development process started with major feminist theories. The main focus of these theoretical frameworks was women’s oppression. At the more general, universal level the problem of homoginization of “women” arises and denies women’s individual agency. It was only in the seventies when an emerging approach to study women directed our attention to women’s lives, their perceptions, and visions about the changes that took place in their lives (Sachs

1996). Still, the focus of the early studies was on urban women being integrated in men’s world, particularly in the labor force (see for example French and James, eds. 1997).

Rural women remained silent takers and victims in the analysis of development.

Women in La Calera and Palmitopamba perceive development-related changes that are taking place in different ways. The discussion in this chapter focused only on 120 issues directly experienced by these women. General issues pertaining to the over all impact of development on women’s lives and their ability to negotiate the impact on their lives brought about by these changes are discussed in Chapter 5. While I was conducting my research, my general impression was that none from these two communities was satisfied with the performance of the government in improving the quality of life of the people, particularly those in the rural regions. With the exception of a few individuals who were directly involved in the government and therefore benefited from the development projects, residents from the indigenous and mestizo communities were not satisfied with the way the government was dealing with the problems in rural communities and in the country in general. The following excerpt clearly shows this:

Many people are marginalized, especially the indigenous people. I said this because as you can observe, there are other areas more developed than this community. The government only helps the rich community. Officials are only good during election but after the election, you could hardly see them around. However, the government did help in making potable water and electricity available but presently, there are no more projects being implemented. Up to the present time, there are still houses which do not have electricity. The government makes a lot of promises but they do not fulfill these promises. Rural communities are always neglected. Never has this area been prioritized. All government projects are for lowland areas, particularly the cities.

In La Calera, the focused group discussion that I conducted among 20 women showed that everyone agreed that the major development projects implemented in the community are electrification and water supply and the construction of preparatory school and main roads. These projects materialized in the late 80s to early 90s. This information was corroborated by the president of the community who mentioned that electricity was made available to the village only 20 years ago. All women I interviewed individually also mentioned the same thing. In general, these women believe that these 121 kinds of development are good for the community. However, they all agreed that other projects should be implemented in the village including creation of jobs for the local people. These women stressed that jobs should not only be for men. Women should also be given equal opportunities and resources so that they too can work close to the house.

Creation of jobs for men is also important since it will encourage men not to leave the community to search for jobs outside the village.

Most of the projects that women want to see implemented in the community are income generating such as small-scale industry where they can apply their knowledge in dress and handicraft making. Livestock raising is another project they expressed to be important in uplifting rural people’s condition. By providing capital, through loans with small interest, these women think that various development projects they mentioned can be successful. Women also expressed that a training center will help them in realizing their aspirations. They envision that the training center will be the venue for all training sessions for livestock raising, for example, or improvement of agricultural production. In fact, many of them suggested that the government should provide training about farming as well as providing them with planting materials so that the problem that they are experiencing in the farm will be reduced. Construction of an irrigation system was also raised as another project that should be implemented.

The other desirable development projects mentioned included construction of schools, a stadium, and a communal house. School is prioritized because majority of the children go to the nearby cities to attend schools. This worries the parents because the children are then more prone to accidents. The stadium is mentioned because sports, particularly soccer, is popular in this community. Engaging in sport related activities do 122 not only encourage the youth to get involved in more productive activities, the sport also serves as a social event in the village. Also, women sell food items when there are games, augmenting the families’ income.

There are other projects that are now being implemented in the village but these projects are not directly funded by the government. Lolita, for example, said that:

I am not aware of any government project. There is one project, pig raising, but this is not from the government. This project is funded by the Queen of Spain. This was given to our organization, the women’s organization. Unfortunately, there are only five of us who are actively involved in this organization. This project started in February of 2000. Well, the government was responsible for building roads and in putting electricity. I think this project started 25 years ago. However, the government asked money from the local people to install the electricity. It is a good project though, especially at night. It is no longer dark and people can walk in the village, not feeling scared.

Lolita’s perceptions of changes and impacts of development in La Calera were highlighted by other women in the village. In general, the impacts of development in La

Calera can be categorized as either infrastructural impact referring to security/convenience brought about by road construction, installation of electricity, provision of potable water, and construction of houses as illustrated by the earlier example or cultural and social impact denoting changes in the way of life of the people including impact of technology on agricultural practices. The social impact has the bigger effect as recognized by 39 percent of my informants. For infrastructural category, only 30 percent cited that development has changed people’s traditional way of living and eventually affected the way people spend their leisure hours. Notably, 31 percent of informants mentioned that the government did not do anything to improve people’s lives.

When the community was provided with electricity, people felt safer because streets were well lighted. However, the change also allowed the youth to stay out late at 123

night, attending parties and getting drunk. Other noticeable cultural changes also took

place in the way people dress. The typical clothes that indigenous women wear is

composed of white embroidered blouse and a skirt made up of two overlapping pieces of

cloth, one black and one white. Men, on the other hand, normally wear white pants, a

polo shirt, and a poncho12. Both men and women wear a type of sandals called paragatas, black for women and white for men. When modernization encroached on the rural areas, the younger generation was the first to be influenced. This is because the youth are more exposed to the outside world through education and media. When indigenous youth watch television, they see various conditions of people’s lives from different countries and cultures. Many television programs, particularly those from the west, encourage high levels of consumption and a glamorous way of life. A different value system is thus inculcated in the minds of the youth that eventually affects their behavior, for example, their western-style clothing. The following testimonies of women attest to these changes:

I do not like this community to be highly urbanized but I do like the changes that happened in terms of having television and radios because we can now watch news on television or listen to the radio. This can help us be aware of other people’s culture. However, I prefer that indigenous people will maintain their tradition and culture. Mother, 29 years old

Before, the indigenous women were only wearing the indigenous clothes. Now some of us are already wearing dresses like the mestizos. This is even worse with men. Almost all of them are wearing mestizo clothes now. This kind of change is not good. Daughter, 23 years old

Now men no longer wear paragatas. They no longer use poncho. They only use wertern shoes and t-shirts. Mother, 57 years old

12 A garment made up of thick textile, used to be very common among indigenous men but are now only used on special occasions such as in assembly meetings and formal gatherings. 124

Blanca Moratorio (1998) argued that Ecuador is not immune from the introduction of new communication technologies that became instruments of incorporation of indigenous people (Napo Quichua for her study) in the global modernity.

However, when I asked the La Calera women to explain these cultural changes, majority of them stated that it was due to a practical or economic reason that young people started dressing like mestizos. A complete set of indigenous clothes for a woman costs $50-150

A complete set of men’s clothes can be significantly more expensive because they have to match it with a poncho and a hat. Hence, younger indigenous men started the use of western clothes. Older men, however, still keep the tradition and continue to wear white pants and a poncho. In contrast, majority of women still wear traditional clothes.

Although expensive, women said that they want to keep alive their cultural identity. This behavior is supported by Weismantel who pointed out that “ the indigenous peoples of the Andes have responded to centuries of domination with a lively dialectical imagination, using a strategy of incorporating alien elements into their own culture while resisting more profound assimilation” (1988:49).

Going back to the more general topic of government-sponsored development projects, I also asked the women if they have been recipients of projects or programs where the target clientele are individual households. Only eight percent of 25 informants mentioned that there was a housing project where the government gave financial support.

However, it was not successful because according to Mrs. Chavez “the only beneficiaries of this project are those who live close to the center of the village, particularly people who are close to the president of the community”. Generally, similar results were generated from the interview of women in Palmitopamba. Thirty-nine percent responded 125 that the government did not have any project for individual households in their community while 32 percent mentioned that government projects mostly focused on infrastructure. In Palmitopamba, the emphasis was on the provision of potable water but in La Calera, electricity was more important. Electricity was provided in Palmitopamba in the early 1980s while potable water was provided ten years earlier. As recalled by women in this community:

Before, there was this project supported by “Consejo de provincial”. A representative from the government came here and taught the people how to cultivate corn. That was a long time ago. The government also helped in building school here as well as in the construction of the church. Mother, 39 years old

When I was still single, there was no electricity in this area. Now we already have electricity. Before, the church was still made of wood, now it is concrete. Road was improved as well. Mother, 36 years old

Maybe you have noticed that this village is not developed at all. This is because the government is not giving support of any form in this community. Grandmother, 70 years old

The above statements illustrate perceptions and reactions of women to various government projects that were implemented in Palmitopamba. Unlike women in La

Calera, women in Palmitopamba cited other aspects of development that have nothing to do with infrastructure. Eleven percent of the women interviewed said that other development projects implemented in the village were the extension of technical support related to agricultural production and financial support for livestock production. Another interesting result of the interview is the direct association of other non-governmental projects with the government in people’s minds. In fact, 18 percent of women cited 126

SANREM when they were asked to mention projects implemented by the government.

Because of the fact that this area is 100 percent mestizo, cultural impact is not as salient as it was in La Calera. In terms of future development projects, the majority of the women want to have a public park, a stadium, and a local highschool. There was one woman who expressed a desire to have a reforestation project in the community but her attitude was probably influenced by the presence of non-government organizations working with conservation efforts that hired her children. Despite a broader perspective, women in Palmitopamba still tended to associate development with infrastructure. This is not surprising since infrastructure is a big part of the whole development approach in

Ecuador. In order to open “undeveloped” areas, roads and bridges were built along with the construction of a large market that served as meeting place for commercial growers.

In analyzing women’s perceptions of and attitudes toward development by generation, infrastructural support also came out as the most salient among the three generations. However, the type of infrastructure emphasized varies between younger and older generations. For the younger generation, stadium, parks, and playgrounds are regarded as the most important for the development of the community. Majority of these younger women are still active in out-door activities and consider facilities such as stadium and parks as essential to their social functions. This include women who are already married but do not have children. One informant also pointed that providing such facilities will prevent the youth from getting into illegal activities such as drugs. Next to recreational facilities, employment opportunities are cited by the younger generation as one development component that should be given importance. A 22 year-old woman from Palmitopamba said “I want the government to provide opportunity for the people 127 here in Palmitopamba so that everybody will have jobs. Now all things are expensive.

Even planting materials and seeds people have to buy them to enable them to continue to farm”. This line points to the fact that due to the worsening economic condition, even the younger generation is getting concerned of how their families can cope with these changes.

The older generation on the other hand, gave more importance to the community services and facilities such as potable water, highschool buildings, training center, and communal house. Since this group is responsible for providing the basic needs of the family, it is understandable that they want some of these necessities available in the community. Communal house appears to be very crucial, particularly among indigenous women who mention that having a place where people can discuss problems is important for the overall development of the community. Since secondary education is not offered in both communities, this generation highlights the importance of having highschools in their villages. This will not only minimize transportation expenses for their youth but will also reduce the exposure of their children to accidents on the road.

Another important aspect of development mentioned by mothers are availability of jobs for both men and women and agricultural support, including training. Women of both generations mentioned that handicraft making should be prioritized in training sessions. This can be attributed to the fact that handicraft making can be done at home and at any given time and intermittently with other domestic tasks. This will give women the flexibility and the ability to combine income-generating activities with other household chores (Pitkin and Bedoya 1997). 128

In terms of agriculture, the second-generation women want the government to

hold seminars that will teach them how to revitalize the soil and for the government to

lend some money to individual households so that they can start doing income-generating

activities. These women can be considered, among the three generations, as the most

concerned in as far as making sure that food is available on the table. A mother from La

Calera said:

What I would like to have is a financial support from the government so that I can start my own business. I would like to have a small store. Now, we buy all the things which are needed at home like sugar, oil, and salt. Because of this, we sometimes sell some of the produce that we get from our farm. Hence, we need to have good harvest not only for our food but for the market as well.

Another mother explained that:

There was no development project in this area. I would like to have a project in the community that will help in agricultural production. Here in the community, women are the ones who take care of the animals like pigs and cows. Husbands usually work outside the community hence, women are left to attend to their family and their farms.

Majority of the 1st generation (grandmothers) did not say much about their

thoughts of development. They seem to be resigned to the idea that the government will

not help in improving their lives. This is primarily because during the long period that

they lived in the area, they only observed a few development projects implemented. A

few grandmothers mentioned infrastructural support such as building of roads and parks

and provision of electricity and potable water brought by the economic transformation.

An alternative explanation is that majority of them no are no longer working and are

living with their children, hence their responsibilities are minimal in their old age.

It is evident in the two areas that the concept of development is associated with

change, growth, and improvement. Both indigenous and mestizo women believe that the 129 government should formulate projects that are tangible and beneficial to everybody, e.g., stadium, schools, and parks. It cannot be denied, however, that people expect development to have positive impact not only on one person but on the community as a whole. I would like to emphasize that for these people, improving their lives does not always entail accumulation of wealth. Other culturally relevant indicators are: making people’s lives peaceful, making their children safe, and preserving family values.

However, realities are different from perceptions and aspirations. Women’s

“ideal development” is different from the way that they are integrated in it. The lives of six women represented various forms and levels of integration illustrate both its positive and negative effects. Women gained power in certain domain but at the same time they lost in other realms such as households and community. For these women, what matters is how they negotiate their multiple roles in the midst of the on going change brought about by development. While some of them might have limited choices, that does not stop them from making the best of every situation for the sake of their families and their communities.

While women from La Calera and Palmitopamba evaluate the government projects, they also analyze the “economic status” of other members of their community using various parameters of wealth as a function of progress. The following section discusses indicators that the 53 women I interviewed consider in evaluating the members of the community. 130

Women’s Indicators of Wealth

Wealth is often defined in terms of control over or access to economic resources.

(Grandin 1988). Unlike other concepts that deal with inequality such as race and caste, wealth and its indicators vary across communities. For people in urban settings, wealth can be described as having a well-paying jobs and several cars, while in pastoral societies, it is correlated with the number of animals. In agricultural society, it is associated with the size of land, number of agricultural implements, and labor availability. In the United States and the rest of the industrialized world, wealth, particularly personal wealth, is reflected by the value of property that a person has accumulated in the form of businesses, farms, savings, investments, real estate, and household goods (O’ Hare 1983). In short, wealth is measured by material possessions or objects with economic value. Wealth is used by societies along with other parameters such as gender, age, ethnicity, race, and religion in differentiating its members. It goes without saying that the more wealth a person has accumulated, the higher his/her economic status is.

Glewwe and Gaag (1990) identify various indicators that are conventionally used in assessing socioeconomic status in developing countries. These include per capita- income, household consumption, per capita consumption, food ratio, calories, medical data, and basic needs. Each indicator, however, ignores other parameters that might be useful in planning and implementing various development projects. For example, the per capita income indicator ignores the informal market and self-employment usually associated with women. Caloric indicator on the other hand, omits other non-caloric parameters that also contribute to families’ nutritional well-being. All in all, using 131 parameters that are not based on local people’s own definition and perception of development or wealth does not help uplift the condition of the people and may even worsen their situation.

Historically, in colonized countries such as Ecuador, ethnic differentiation determines economic groups and their social functions. During the Spanish era, indigenous people were relegated to hard labor while Spaniards assumed managerial positions (Larson and Bergman 1969). The indigenous people were considered the economically marginal groups and mestizos were perceived as the elite class. While ethnicity remains one key element of differentiation in Ecuador today, class or economic status is an increasingly important factor on distinguishing groups of people. Indigenous people in Ecuador are no longer exclusively engaged in hard labor, and some actually possess education, land, and/or factories. In other words, “being Indian” no longer prevents people from improving their economic status. Many are marketing local handicrafts in global trade. Moreover, some mestizos, such as those in Palmitopamba are faced with similar situations such as hunger and poverty that were only experienced by indigenous people during the Spanish period.

Most approaches utilized in implementing various development programs are top down, where projects and programs are formulated far from the target clientele

(Chambers 1983). Usually, projects are brought to the target area as a technology package and implemented without any prior knowledge of the existing conditions and the resources available in the community. The Green Revolution is a good example of a technology being blindly introduced to Third World countries. As a consequence, the condition of the local people is not alleviated because the approach is based on outsiders’ 132 perceptions and evaluations of the situation. Local people are rarely asked how they see the total picture and, given the resources, how they would solve the problem.

With few exceptions, local people are not consulted about what their indicators of wealth or prestige are or how they see themselves in relation to other members of the community (de Walt 1979). These local indicators of wealth can give important information on how development projects should be formulated and implemented since these indicators influence people’s behavior and their interaction with one another. The following section identifies what these relevant indicators of wealth in La Calera and

Palmitopamba are and how women are using them to associate themselves with the rest of the community.

The economic condition in these two sites are discussed first to provide background for how local people categorize their co-villagers. From an outside perspective, easily observable and quantifiable indicators can be used to differentiate one economic group from the other. For example, most houses in the mestizo community have two stories and are made of wood and concrete. Except for a few cases, the majority of the home lots in the village have the same land area of approximately 50 square meters. The foregoing indicators are used by local people as well. Other indicators that the family is well off are ownership of stores and trucks. In Palmitopamba, only four families have stores and six families own trucks or a bus. Owning a sugarcane refinery is also an indication of wealth but the scale of production of these refineries is critical. For example, the two families engaged in a small-scale refining operation were categorized as not high-income. Size of farm is another parameter but is not as visible as the previously 133

mentioned indicators since obtaining information on who owns what parcel of land

requires careful individual interviews.

In La Calera, disparity in socioeconomic status is more apparent. The rich and

poor families are easily recognized using parameters such as size of the house. People

categorized as rich have big houses, usually constructed of concrete materials. Some of

the houses are two story-buildings, while others are one-floor dwellings occupying large

land areas. Ownership of a vehicle is another indicator of high-income families. Only

four families owned trucks at the time of the research. These are the families who also

own two-story houses.

Although less accessible to the outside observer, the content of the family meals is

another parameter for identifying which villagers are poor or rich. In Palmitopamba, the

families categorized as rich regularly had meat in their diet. Meat is commonly served

with soup and the main dish, locally called seco.13 Poor families on the other hand, also

have soup and seco, but the seco is not always served with meat and boiled cassava

usually replaces potatoes. In La Calera, although seco is comprised of different foods,

meat still plays a large part in the diet of rich families. The typical dish for poor families

in this area includes steamed rice, boiled potato, and certain types of leguminous plants.

Aji (hot sauce) is also always present on the table, especially if the only food being served is boiled potatoes. Sometimes boiled corn and beans complete the meal. Guinea pig meat is special food item that is served by both the rich and the poor on special occasions.

A modified wealth ranking method was used to analyze women’s indicators of wealth in the two sites in greater depth. Wealth ranking is normally conducted by listing 134 names of the household heads on slips of paper or cards and asking the respondents to rank them from richest to poorest (Silvermann 1966; de Walt 1979; Grandin 1988). When

I pre-tested this method with two informants, they found it difficult to perform the task because of the large number of households in the village. Hence, instead of listing all the names of the people in the community and asking local informant to rank them, the informants were asked to name five individuals in their community who they think are rich, five individuals who belong in the middle income group, and another five they consider as poor. After the names were given, the informants were asked their reasons for the groupings. The results were analyzed using SPSS.

When the women listed or identified names of people or household heads who belong to different economic groups, they included names of both the male and the female. This was a surprise since conventionally only names of males are mentioned as the heads of households (Deere and Leon de Leal 1982). This implies that, at least from the perspective of women, both men and women are regarded as household heads, contrary to the conventional perception that men head the households. This situation can partially be attributed to the Andean history since during the pre-Incan period, women and men held independent rights and controlled their productive activities. This arrangement continued to be practiced even during the Inca time. Women might not be given high political positions, but they were allowed to possess wealth and carry prestige

(Hamilton 1998). Another explanation might be that the majority of men, particularly in the indigenous community, migrate to other cities and countries to work, leaving the

13 Seco is the “dry” part of the meal and is typically served with steamed rice, fried fish or meat of any kind, one or two types of salad (vegetables sprinkled with lemon juice or potato salad), and sometimes boiled potato. 135 women head of families in their absence. As mentioned earlier, this kind of migration is fairly common in Ecuador. A study by Miles (1997) in Cuenca, Ecuador, shows that approximately 3000 people, a majority of whom are males, leave Cuenca to work outside the country. The primary reason for leaving their respective villages is economic and lack of structural support from the government which makes it difficult to find jobs locally. In

Nanegal, migration taking place today is principally motivated by the lack of “sense of place” among the younger generation, who do not have their own land, or a job in the community, but work for the family without being paid (Rhoades et.al., 2001).

In La Calera, two people identified as belonging to high-income group by 40 percent of informants, also travel to other countries selling Ecuadorian products. One of them spends more than 50 percent of his time outside the country. The person who travels less outside the country also owns a factory where indigenous clothes are made, which he and his wife sell in nearby cities including Otavalo and Quito. Generally, ownership of a business such as a clothing or craft factory is one parameter that a majority of the indigenous women cite in differentiating socio-economic groups. However, this is not the only indicator that women in both villages use in ranking and classifying households.

A total of nine indicators were used by women to categorize families among the three economic groups. These include: (1) land ownership, (2) house ownership, (3) possession of automobile(s), (4) stable job, (5) ownership of factory or other business establishment(s), (6) number of children, (7) educational attainment, (8) lack of or dependence on government services/facilities, and (9) “quality of life” indicator14. The same set of indicators was used in both sites to compare and contrast women’s

14 Quality of life is described by some women using non-parametric, gestalt assessment such as “family has better quality life.” 136 assessment of wealth. Below, I discuss how each of the high-, middle, and low-income groups – were described by local informants by delineating the major wealth indicators used to define each category.

Tumin (1985) points out that property is easier to use to show wealth than honor or power, hence, land ownership is considered to be the most important indicator of wealth by indigenous and mestizo women. A family is considered rich if they own a big parcel of land and people who do not own any piece of land are perceived as poor. In the indigenous community of La Calera, land is only considered as an indicator of high income when it is cultivated with cash crops, particularly vegetables. One resident, for example, who is categorized as rich, is the only person in the village who is well known for his large area allocated for vegetable production. Thus, simply owning a large15 piece of land does not qualify a person or a family to be ranked as wealthy unless that land is utilized for market production. Parcels of land used to cultivate subsistence crops do not qualify as a high income indicator since production primarily for home consumption does not have an income-generating capacity that commercial farm has. In Palmitopamba, land ownership is very critical for many women since it is the major source of income and base for commercial agricultural activities in this community, notably of sugarcane production and processing. This is doubly important in the case of sugarcane refineries since local people are hired and therefore are dependent on other people’s wealth to survive.

The second most important indicator of wealth for women in La Calera and

Palmitopamba is house ownership. Possession of something visible, concrete, and

15 Large is used here as a relative term since large pieces of land vary in size and usually range only from two to 10 hectares in La Calera. In Palmitopamba, a large land area ranges from eight to 20 hectares. 137 tangible illustrates high economic status and owning a substantial house is something which the women aspire. Although size of the house remains salient for women in both communities in identifying rich families, ownership is more crucial for women in the mestizo community. In fact, a majority of the rich people mentioned by informants in

Palmitopamba own a second house in Quito, where their children attend schools.

Owning a bus, truck, or pick-up is likewise an indicator of wealth since they provide additional source of income. A bus provides transportation to the village of

Palmitopamba once a week and to other villages the rest of the week while a truck or a pick up is used to haul products from the village to the city. Families who own any of these vehicles are considered rich in the two communities. Similarly, families are wealthy if they own a factory or other business establishments because household cash flow is guaranteed.

Having a stable job is another salient indicator of wealth by the indigenous and mestizo women. For indigenous women, employment or income-generating activity indicates a stable supply of money in the household, and thus freedom from hunger. Poor families who rely on farming for subsistence always worry about the instability of harvest and the prospect of starvation while those who have stable sources of income do not worry as much about where to get money to buy food. Similarly, mestizo women acknowledge that people who have a permanent job, no matter how minimal the salary is, are categorized as middle income if employment is the only source of income and categorized as rich if the family owns other properties including land and/or vehicle(s).

Daily laborers are considered poor even if they sometimes receive the same amount of money that regular employees receive. Aside from the instability of the source of income, 138 the difficulty of the job is another factor used in determining why people receiving daily wages are not considered even as middle-income. In Palmitopamba, for example, most daily laborers who work in sugarcane plantations or in sugarcane refineries cut sugarcane stalks in the hot sun or work in brown sugar processing, where they are exposed to high temperatures most of the day16. Also, when the products are not in demand, production is halted until the demand accelerates again. When sugarcane plants are still new and not yet established, the owners do not hire laborers, affecting the flow of income of poor families. This is also the reason why most of the youth in this community migrate to

Quito to do construction (males) and domestic (females) work. Aside from the seasonality of the farm jobs, the difficulty of doing farm labor encourages the young adults to seek less strenuous ways to make a living in the city. Women also explained that poor people do not have the means to send their children to school. They also need their children’s help in the farm that further stresses the association of larger families to low- income group. Families who do not have access to any of the government services or facilities are considered poor as well. In fact, this indicator was not mentioned by women in describing rich families and was only cited when women explained why certain families are poor.

The last category, “quality of life”, is more salient in identifying middle-income families. When asked what parameters they used to categorize middle-income families, respondents cited quantifiable but relative indicators. For example, one informant said

“This family is middle income because they have more than what the poor families have

16 Processing brown sugar entails mixing the extracted juice from the sugarcane non-stop while it is cooking. The juice is transferred from one container to another, exposing the workers to extreme heat from the vats. One boy was severely burned when he fell into a huge container with boiling brown sugar. He suffered from third degree burns and was in the hospital for three months. 139

but less than what the high income group has.” Another informant mentioned that “they

have less than what the rich people have, but they own a piece of land. They also don’t

get hungry”.

The 1996 World Bank country report on Ecuador identifies families and

communities as poor through the use of indicators similar to what women from these two

areas have mentioned. Some of these indicators are houses, access to basic services, and

employment. Characteristics of the poor mentioned in the World Bank’s report but not

cited by the women include health and whether the household has an extended family or

not. The World Bank report emphasizes the difference between housing materials used

by rich and poor families. By comparison, for women in these two sites, the more

important characteristic is whether a person owns a house, followed by the size of the

house. Materials used in building the house do not play a significant role in the women’s

categorization.

Women in both areas are aware of the declining condition of the majority of the

households because of the country’s worsening economy, as illustrated by this example

from a low-income mother:

There are a lot of poor families here. A lot of people need jobs here. Many people do not have jobs to support their families. Although many of them are working on their respective farms, the income is not enough to support their families. Every year, more things are needed. Every year prices of commodities increase hence more and more people are getting poorer and poorer everyday.

Although what is being experienced in real life is almost always difficult to change, the women still hold on to their dreams. When I asked the women about their goals and what economic status they want to achieve in the future, they all gave 140 interesting responses. Nearly all informants prefer not to belong to the high-income group. Their reasons vary but most women feel they would be more comfortable belonging to the middle-income group. Mrs. Rita from La Calera explained that:

In La Calera, there are many poor people who do not have facilities that rich people have. Rich people have a lot of money, a big parcel of land, house, and animals. Poor people like us do not have anything. The rich people, however, are worried about their wealth most especially when they are about to die. For example, to whom should they give their wealth. People who belong in the middle-income group are better off because they have money but they are not worried about being robbed. But I do not want to be poor because poor people do not have enough even to buy food.

This line of reasoning seems to be common among the women interviewed.

Another woman, a young mother in La Calera said:

I prefer to be in the middle-income group because poor people do not own anything, like for example food to eat. Rich people, on the other hand, only think of how to spend money, and they do not know how to do things. The middle-income families usually have food, clothes, and houses, and they also know how to do different things.

Women in Palmitopamba express a similar attitude, as shown by this example from a middle-income mother:

Women who belong to middle-income groups have better positions than those who are in the upper or lower economic groups because they think more about their families and how to balance their lives. There are more problems when a person is rich as well as when s/he is poor.

These responses from women are particularly interesting since it is generally assumed that most people would like to be part of a high economic group with power.

Apparently this is not the case for these women, who perceive power not only as a form 141 of dominance over others but also as having the ability to perform various tasks for themselves as well as providing the basic needs of their family.

The women revealed through some of their remarks that their lives are not as a stage of linear progression aiming for the pinnacle but more of rising to a state where they can balance their resources and needs and have most situations under their control.

This brings us to the concepts of marginality and power relations, where power is manifested through unequal relationships when an individual or group of individuals dominates others. Women from both the mestizo and the indigenous communities emphasize that being part of the dominant or high-income group does not always contribute to the control or power.

In Tsing’s book, In the Realm of the Diamond Queen (1992), Uma Andang represents an individual who is caught in the patriarchal system of dominance but still manages to construct her agency by mocking the dominant culture. Similar to Uma

Andang, women from these two villages attempt to create a space, that of being in the middle ground, where their position will not be questioned by the dominant system but still allow them to construct and maintain their identities. As one woman from La Calera stated “..The middle income families usually have food, clothes, and houses, and they also know how to do different things,” the ability to do things or the capability to perform various tasks on their own is critical for these women. It allows them to claim heir niche in the community and gives them the opportunity to avoid being marginalized in the village. As discussed in Chapter 2, women who manage to penetrate the dominant political system as in the case of Lolita and Mira, wind up being peripherized in the process. In a similar manner, women who belong to the lowest economic level are totally 142 ignored not only by the dominant groups but also by the whole community. If any member of poor families attends a public meeting, that person (usually male) would just sit silently throughout the meeting while people from high economic groups dominate the discussion. Representatives of middle-income families (the majority are women), however, participate in the discussion and always make sure that their voices are heard.

Power for these women needs to be examined in its totality. As Zapata (1999) emphasized, women in these communities do not make any distinction of empowerment in terms of economic, social, and cultural institutions. Empowerment is part of their lives as a whole, where different aspects overlap, interact, and reinforce each other. Women from these villages value not having to be part of the dominant group while still being able to question the structure as well as to be active participants in the whole social system.

Scholars analyze the concept of borderland in terms of its physical construct as well as its symbolic and social images created by people who live in this contested space.

Kearney (1998), for example, emphasized that the border area is a “liminal space” where creative energies are released creating signs and identities born outside the dominant system that presumes to control identities in this zone. The results of this study show that women do not necessarily want to belong to the high-income group or the low-income group. They are aware that those conditions will restrict their ability to negotiate their positions since high-income women are largely constrained by the patriarchal system and low-income women are prevented from even being a part of the general discussion.

This chapter highlights the impact of development in different ways on women of various groups. However, as explained in Chapter 2, development also affects the 143 environment in general and women’s production system in particular. The chapter that follows discusses this issue in greater degree with an emphasis on homegardens as another place where women negotiate their constricted space. CHAPTER FOUR

WOMEN AND HOMEGARDENS: GENERATION, CLASS, AND ETHNICITY

You are always in the field, Carrying loads on the head, A baby asleep on the back Pounding Clearing Tilling My mother, you are always working So much that I can’t even tell the difference Between you and the fields “In the field” by A.R.H. Attah, Ghana

Homegardens, according to Fernandes and Nair (1986:279), “represent land use systems involving deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and, invariably, livestock, within the compounds of individual houses.” A homegarden is an area being cultivated by all members of the household where the main purpose of the produce is for home utilization.

The term is broadly construed here to include backyard garden, kitchen garden, and house garden.

Homegardens are always present in rural areas and in some parts of urban regions in Third World countries. Although this strategy has existed for centuries and was the earliest form of food production, only recently have homegardens been studied in terms of their contribution to household nutrition and to a certain extent, the family's income

(Niñez 1989). A majority of these studies deal with the structures and functions of homegardens or the types of plants cultivated in the area (see, for example, Fernandes 145 and Nair 1986; Rico-Gray 1990). While these types of studies are important in evaluating the subsistence function of homegardens, it is just as necessary to understand homegardens as areas where gardeners, usually women, experiment with and nurture diversified species of crops (Padoch and Jong 1991). Incorporating the persons who manage the homegardens and how these individuals perceive this place of production in the analysis provides a more wholistic comprehension of homegardens and biodiversity.

In this regard, issues concerning changes of crop diversity over time and what influenced their transformation--including what opportunities and constraints gardeners encounter in maintaining and managing the gardens--are important aspects in the study of homegarden.

To evaluate the changes taking place in the homegardens and to incorporate the gardeners' perceptions of homegardens and their plants, different research techniques were employed in the present research. One is objective mapping where the total number of plants and their varieties were counted and land area was measured through pacing.

Another method used was cognitive mapping where informants were asked to draw maps of their garden at different time intervals--ten years ago, the present time, and ten years from now. This information was elicited to assess women’s evaluation of changes over time and to get an idea of what development direction these women want to take in terms of crop diversity. The general trend of changes in the garden is analyzed using the three maps, while only the “present” map is used in comparing cognitive maps to the scientific maps to identify culturally significant crops. Ethnicity, age, and economic groups are the variables used for comparative analysis. The crops drawn on the maps were coded and the results were tallied and analyzed using the SPSS program. 146

This chapter is divided into several parts. The first part presents a presumably objective representation of garden maps by the researcher where the structure and types of homegardens in the two sites are discussed. This is followed by an analysis of the plant classification system of women in the two areas in comparison with scientific plant classification systems. A comparative analysis of women’s garden maps using the variables of ethnicity, age, and class is then discussed and contextualized using excerpts from their life histories.

Diversity and Integration: A Comparison of Indigenous and Mestizo Homegardens

The enduring and intimate relationship that exists between women and the environment can be understood from various perspectives. One explanation deals with the symbolic relation of women with nature, emphasizing how mother earth is associated with women (Sachs 1996). According to this theory, woman’s ability to reproduce other human beings and to produce materials (e.g., milk) needed for survival can be equated with the ability of nature to provide the needed materials for human survival. In other words, all activities related to household and childcare are simply an extension of a physiological make-up that nature intended women to have (Mies 1988; Merchant 1995).

Other feminists argue that this relationship parallels women’s subordination to men in the same manner that nature is dominated by human technological advances (Werhof 1988).

Other feminist scholars (e.g., Agarwal 1992; Shiva 1993) argue that women are closer to nature than men because of the material and utilitarian value of the environment.

Since the beginning of time, women’s ability to utilize the environment, particularly plants, is well documented in the literature (Heiser 1990; Fowler and Mooney 1999). This can be traced back to the division of labor by gender or the man-the-hunter and woman- 147 the-gatherer dichotomy where women have the major responsibility of feeding the family through the plants that they collected and propagated (SEARICE 1995; Sachs 1995).

In rural agriculture-based households such those in Palmitopamba and La Calera, women’s major responsibilities include providing food for the family. In Palmitopamba, for example, the first thing that mothers do when they wake up in the morning is to gather cassava from their garden, fry it for breakfast and mix it with soup for lunch. The indigenous women of La Calera, on the other hand, spend a significant amount of time in activities that involve food preservation such as drying beans grown in women’s gardens.

Aside from providing food, women in these two communities are also in charge of their children’s general health and well-being. Women in Palmitopamba always grow herbal medicines in their gardens for common ailments such as colds, coughs, and minor cuts, so they can treat their children with medicinal plants if the doctor is not available. A similar custom is practiced in La Calera where women also cultivate plants to heal common diseases. Because of their responsibilities, women observed and learned more about various crops that are good for medicine, fodder, and food (Sachs et al 1997;

CGIAR 1998). For instance, women often decide what crops are good for storage, which variety of corn is best to cook with beans, and what food items are good sources of nutrients. These women keep, maintain, propagate, and conserve various crops grown in their homegardens because they are aware that these materials are necessary for their survival.

Despite the fact that women have an active role in the utilization and propagation of plant diversity to ensure food availability, this role remains socially invisible and, therefore uncompensated. Aidoo (1988) points out that historically development has been 148

planned mainly by men and the work of women remains “invisible.” Even activities

involving food production--the very basis of human existence--are considered secondary

by development researchers who assume that all farmers are men (CGIAR 1998).

Women’s knowledge about crops and their management is eroding as modern seeds and

technologies are introduced in rural regions. This trend negates the fact that women’s

homegardens as well as women’s knowledge about the crops being cultivated in this

marginal region are crucial in sustaining human lives and the integrity of the

environment.

Considerable effort and money is devoted to research about collection and

conservation of plant genetic resources in formal institutions such as international

genebanks or ex situ conservation (Rhoades and Nazarea 1999). Recently, similar efforts

are being undertaken in informal settings in the form of in situ genebanks and on-farm

conservation. Ex situ and in situ conservation are now perceived as complementary approaches rather than as mutually exclusive alternatives in conserving plant genetic resources. According to Brush (1999), in situ conservation is critical for the maintenance of key elements of genetic resources. In some cases maintenance cannot be done off-site primarily because of its dynamic nature. The natural habitat continues to generate variation through various mechanisms such as mutation, recombination, and geneflow

(Jana 1999). In situ gardens (or on on-farm conservation areas) can be treated as laboratories or experimental stations where these different processes can occur.

Moreover, since deterioration and human error can adversely affect off-site conservation facilities, on-site conservation can serve as back up for the existing off-site genebanks. 149

Despite the increasing legitimacy of in situ conservation, however, the significance of women’s homegardens continues to be seriously underrated in the conservation agenda. Because women remain invisible in the agricultural process, their effort concerning the conservation of crop genetic diversity is overlooked as well (Aidoo

1988; Henderson 1995; Martelo 1996). In fact, it is often forgotten that in situ conservation is critical not only for preserving plant genetic resources but also for safeguarding cultural knowledge that is as important in the conservation of plant genetic resources (Nazarea 1998).

Padoch and Jong (1991) point out that house gardens not only provide subsistence and cash resources but also serve as repository and testing sites for uncommon species and varieties of plants. Bittenbunder (1983) characterized gardens in Africa as areas where vegetables, staple crops, and tree crops are found. In Puerto Rico the gardens provide various functions in the household including food, fiber, medicine, construction materials, and places to undertake recreational activities. In Yucatec Maya, the garden remains a productive subsistence production strategy open to poor peasants since it requires limited land, water, and capital (Kintz and Ritchie 1997). Even in the United

States, many families engage in gardening for economic reasons (Gladwin and Butler

1984). In Andean region particularly on the high plateau of Peruvian Puno, women cultivate and maintain bitter varieties of potato in their garden to use for a particular drink. In Cajamarca Peru, a potato grower named Rosa prefers to grow different varieties of potatoes, particularly the native kind, because, in her opinion, native varieties never fail to produce (Tapia and de la Torre 1998). It is impossible not to see various landraces of crops in the garden mainly because of their multiple functions in the household. 150

Midmore et al. (1991) describe homegardens as areas usually located close to the house that are planted with various crops. This description holds true for the two study sites. Women in La Calera also include areas planted with a more uniform crop situated adjacent to the house since the majority of houses in this community are located in the middle of the farm/garden. A typical garden for indigenous Cotacateños is surrounded with flowering plants and several trees (see Fig 2 and Appendix A, for more examples).

Vegetables and other foodcrops are usually planted three to five meters away from the house, either at the back or the side, while a single crop (e.g., potato, beans, peas) is cultivated adjacent to the house. This area is still included in the garden because the produce is usually for home consumption. In some cases, very few crops are cultivated close to the house, and the rest are planted several meters away. The land area of homegardens ranges from 20 square meters to 300 square meters, depending on the economic status of the household. However, land area alone is not an indication of crop diversity. I found that low-income families with their smaller gardens tend to have more diversified crops than the high-income families because the former do not have enough money to buy all their food needs and therefore depend on their gardens for some of these necessities. 151

Figure 2. Researcher’s map of an indigenous woman’s homegarden showing crop diversity

The method of land preparation for homegardens varies according to their size. A wooden plow is used when the land area is big enough for the cows to move around, in

300 m2 while shovel and machete are used when the area is small (e.g., 2 x 4 meter). The man in the family prepares the land. No particular garden layout is used since the plants cultivated are generally mixed and diversified. Most plants are randomly scattered in the 152 area except for flowering plants which women tend to cultivate in front or in areas that are highly visible to outsiders. If a larger area is planted to a single crop such as corn, potatoes, beans, or peas, the person who prepares the land makes ridges or furrows in the ground one foot wide and 6-10 feet long. Women weed regularly in the areas where the staple crops are growing and occasionally around plants cultivated closer to the house.

Watering generally is done only during drought conditions. Pests and plant diseases are not considered as problems deserving any management effort.

For the mestizo community in Palmitopamba, a typical homegarden varies from having a diversified combination of plants to being planted with only a few medicinal plants and/or fruit trees (see Figures 4 and 5). Unlike the situation in the indigenous community of La Calera where a family considered high-income still has a diversified garden, high-income families in Palmitopamba generally have fewer and less diverse

Figure 3. Researcher’s map of a mestizo homegarden planted with a variety of crops. 153

Figure 4. Researcher’s map of a mestizo homegarden planted with few plants and low diversity

plants in their gardens. High-and low-income families have almost the same amount of land allocated for homegardens. Even if high-income families have large areas under cultivation, a large portion is allocated for sugarcane and other commercial crops.

Likewise, their homegardens tend to be lacking in diversity. One high-income family allocates more than 3000 sq. m. for its homegarden, but the area is planted with only one crop, cassava. No other foodcrops are being cultivated for home consumption.

Similar to indigenous women of La Calera, mestizo women in Palmitopamba do not follow specific layout in planting crops in their gardens. Most activities related to 154 homegardens, such as land preparation, weeding, and maintenance, are performed by women and children, although weeding is not performed regularly because women do not have time to do it. Pests and disease are not considered a major problem there either.

The difference in crop diversity of homegardens in the two communities can be explained from different angles. As mentioned earlier, high-income families in La Calera

(the indigenous community) although viewed as rich families in the community, still fall under the middle- or low-income category compared to their mestizo counterparts.

Hence, it can be argued that majority of families in La Calera are still marginalized.

Nazarea (1998) points out that farmers at the margins tend to retain a variety of landraces to sustain families’ multiple needs. This explains why indigenous women, regardless of whether they are rich or poor (in local people’s definition of wealth), maintain a higher diversity of crops in their gardens.

Degree of market integration can also influence the manner by which homegardens are maintained. Although both the indigenous and mestizo women perform multiple roles in the household, the latter have less time to attend to their gardens because of their income-generating activities outside the home. Mestizo women who belong to high-income groups are either engaged in processing sugarcane or in transporting the produce to the market. They also spend time preparing food for laborers and/or supervising their business. The majority of the indigenous women do not have outside jobs that demand full-time attention. Even high-income women from this community still engage in subsistence farming and depend mainly on their garden for food. Women who are engaged in store keeping, dressmaking, or handicraft do not need to attend to their work-related responsibilities on a specific time schedule. Hence, they have more time to 155 work in their gardens. The smaller amount of time mestizo women spend in their gardens demonstrate that once women become more involved in commercial production, less time is spent on subsistence and nurturance-related activities. This is not to say that these women have completely abandoned the idea of gardening. In fact, many of them want to spend more time in their gardens but because of other activities that demand their attention, they can no longer perform other tasks.

The most common crops cultivated in the homegardens of the 23 indigenous women interviewed are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Most common plants cultivated in La Calera homegardens1

Common Names Scientific Names Cultivation (%) potatoes Solanum tuberosum 50 cabbage Brassica oleracea 50 corn Zea mays 40 onions Allium cepa 40 beans Phaseolus valgaris 30 Aji Capsicum annuum 40 oranges Citrus sirensi 20 tocte Juglans neotropica 40 lechero Euphoria lauriforia 40 peas Phaseolus vulgaris 30

For Ecuadorians, particularly for indigenous people, aji is as indispensable as salt in the households. A typical plate comprised mainly of boiled potato, corn, and beans will not be served without aji. Lechero, a type of tree, is generally maintained in homegarden because it serves as a post for tying cows while they are being milked.

1 Complete list located in Appendix C. 156

In Palmitopamba, the most common crops cultivated are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Most common plants cultivated in Palmitopamba homegardens2.

Common Names Scientific Names Cultivation (%) Banana Musa paradisiaca 67 Cassava Manihot esculenta 55 Lemon grass Lippia Triphylla 55 Lemon Citrus limon 44

Similar to potatoes, corn, and beans of the indigenous community, banana and

cassava play a significant role in the mestizo diet.3 These staple crops are used in making soup and as a main dish. These crops are considered “staple” because they anchor each meal in the two communities: potato and corn for the indigenous households of La Calera and banana and cassava for the mestizos in Palmitopamba. The difference in staple crops between the two regions can be attributed to their geographical locations. Potato is best cultivated in the highlands, with its cooler climate while cassava and banana are more suitable for the tropical lowlands. Another interesting plant that is more often found in gardens in Palmitopamba is the hierba luisa (Lippia triphylla) and lemon (Citrus limon).

These two crops are commonly utilized in beverages including tea and juice. Hierba luisa

is also used as a medicinal plant and is sold seasonally in Quito by one of the informants.

Except for crops such as potatoes, beans, peas, and corn, harvesting is done in

both villages on a staggered basis and only when the produce is needed in the household.

In the indigenous community, corn and beans are usually planted during September and

October and harvested five months later while potatoes and peas are cultivated and

harvested during the months when corn and beans are not planted. For these types of

2 Complete list located in Appendix C 3 In Palmitopamba, cassava and banana are used interchangeably. Both are utilized in soup and the main dish. 157

crops, relay cropping is practiced with corn being followed by potatoes. Corn is always

mixed with beans, while potatoes are intercropped with peas. The mixing of corn and

beans is a practical agricultural strategy. Corn serves as poles for beans, therefore saving

the gardeners time and energy in putting up poles. Corn stalks are also fed to guinea pigs

and eaten like sugarcane. Beans help replenish the nutrients of the soil by fixing nitrogen.

Homegardens serve as a venue for the indigenous women of La Calera to

socialize with other women, as neighbors and friends provide help during planting and

harvesting. Five women who were observed, each planting corn, moved down one

furrow in alternate directions so the adjacent women would meet at the center before

moving on to opposite directions. While putting 2-3 kernels in each small hole,4 the

women chatted about what was happening in their village. When a conversation topic

revolved around interesting events, women giggled while discussing it. Issues like wife

battering were also included in the discussion, accompanied with sighs of frustration.

Before lunch, the owner of the garden went home to prepare the food, accompanied by

one of the women who helped her in the preparation. These women continued to chat

freely about their private lives over lunch.

Indigenous women utilize more crops from their gardens than the mestizo women.

Staple crops like potatoes and corn constitute a large portion of the families’ diets and

contribute a fair amount to their nutritional demands. Corn and potatoes, for example,

supply carbohydrates and vitamin A while leguminous plants such as beans and peas

provide protein. The people in this area also eat insects such as white grub which is also

found in homegarden soil. In one instance, a doctor recommended that a mother feed her

4 Planting was done using a wooden pole (digging stick) to poke small holes in the gorund in which to drop kernels. They cover the holes using one foot. 158 son this insect to prevent asthma attack. Hence, while many of these families are poor and cannot afford to buy meat, protein deficiency is not a significant problem in this community. Cultivation of vegetables also supplies the other vitamins needed by the family.

While banana and cassava provide much of the energy needed by families in

Palmitopamba, the lack of supplementary vegetables and leguminous plants in their gardens forces women, even those with moderately diversified homegardens, to buy vegetables and other foodcrops from the local market, Quito, or the mobile truck from which various produce is sold. The increasing commercialization of sugarcane and its products in Palmitopamba has had a significant impact on the maintenance or absence of homegardens in this area. Since the main objective of households is to augment income, families in this area dedicate a major portion of their land for sugarcane production.

Eventually, less and less land, time, and energy are allotted for gardening or subsistence production. In a study done by Picchi (1991) in central Brazil, a similar situation developed when industrial agriculture penetrated the area. According to Picchi, family gardens were undermined because the attention has shifted to commercial production.

Plants Classified, Plants Utilized

Although earlier anthropological research relied mainly on the researchers’ interpretation of various cultures, emphasis gradually moved toward discerning the people’s own understanding and perception of the natural world. While ethnobiologists and ethnoecologists differed in their theoretical frameworks, their works collectively highlighted the value of understanding local people’s cognitive frameworks (Conklin 159

1962; Stutervant 1964; Hunn 1982; Ellen 1982; and Berlin 1992). Since then, there has

been a growing acknowledgement that local systems of classification and categorization

play a significant role in shaping people’s behavior toward the environment.

Plant biologists classify plants using the conventional taxonomic tree comprised

mainly of the following: the order that includes one or more families and is not

restrictive; the families characterized by shared reproductive and vegetative features; the

genera, an inclusive category composed of closely related species; and the species, plants

that are fundamentally alike, genetically related, and reproductively compatible (Jones

and Luchsiger 1986). In his book, Ethnobiological Classification, Brent Berlin (1992)

discussed virtually equivalent levels of categorization or classification of plants and

animals by indigenous peoples. According to Berlin, there are six universal ranks. The

kingdom or the unique beginner is the most inclusive taxon, exemplified by the words

“plant” or “animal”. Next, the life-form, is a comprehensive group that may include general terms such as “tree” or “bush.” The intermediate rank, described as the structural

position between life-form and generic ethnobiological rank, include evergreens.

Generic, which follows the intermediate rank, can be considered as the species level

where discontinuities of biological categories are readily perceived such as pine and oak.

The next rank, the Specific, is the level where taxa share a few distinctive morphological characteristics but most have generally similar features such as blue spruce. The varietal, the last subset, is below the specific rank but with more attributes such as large brown bass. Berlin’s (1962, 1992) main theoretical position that humans share a universal cognitive model in classifying and/or naming plants and animals regardless of where they are or to which ethnic groups they belong. This paradigm emphasizes observed 160

morphological affinities that, according to Berlin, are fundamental and basic in

classifying organisms.

The other school of thought on local people’s classification or categorization

system of living things is based on a different theoretical orientation. Eugene Hunn

(1982) and from a slightly different position, Roy F. Ellen (1982) theorized that humans

classify living things not on the basis of their morphological characteristic alone but are

influenced by their functional and/or socio-cultural values, in other words by utility and

context, respectively. Unlike Berlin, Hunn and Ellen emphasize the value of use and

cultural contexts associated with living things over morphological affinities and

taxonomic hierarchies. Ellen in particular highlights “prehension” or the way living

things are perceived by humans who are influenced by various cultural realities.

Similar to what Ellen (1982) and Hunn (1982) point out in their explanation of

local categorization system, women in my research sites in Ecuador do not follow the

universals of folk biological classification based primarily on morphological affinities.

For example, corn (maiz) and popcorn (canguil) are placed on the same level under the

category granos. Canguil is a special variety of corn that pops but women in these two villages consider corn and canguil as two different species under granos because corn is perceived as a crop that is utilized as animal feed while canguil is seen as a foodcrop.

Hence, instead of looking at morphological affinities, plants are lumped together or split apart on the basis of different characteristics highlighted by cultural understanding or use.

Although indigenous and mestizo women differ in the number of domesticated plant groups/categories, they recognize and name (indigenous women identify five while mestizo women have 11 plant groups), it is apparent that the bases of grouping for both 161 are utilitarian and dynamic. The indigenous women’s plant groups are as follows: medicinal plants (plantas medicinales), grains (granos), fruits (frutales), wood trees

(arboles), vegetables (hortaliza), and ornamental plants (ornamentals) (see Figure 6). By comparison, mestizo women have the following plant groups: fruits (frutas), ornamentals

(ornamentales), medicinal plants (plantas medicinales), fruit trees

Figure 5. Local Classification of plants by women in La Calera

Plants

Grains Vegetables Trees Fruits Medicinal Flowering/ Ornamentals

Corn Lettuce Eucalyptus Blackberry Llanten14 Dahlias Beans Squash Tocte10 Apple Mint Roses Peas Beets Arayan11 Lemon Manzanilla15 Azucena Wheat Sampo7 Avocado Pineapple Oregano Barley Cauliflower Lechero12 Granadilla13 Toronjil16 Canguil Cucumber Pine Water melon Hierba luisa17 Cebada5 Onions Orange Higo18 Chochos6 Potato Mellocos8 Oca9 Cassava Sweet potato Cabbage

5 barley 6 a kind of bean 7 a kind of squash 8 a kind of Andean tuber 9 a kind of Andean tuber 10 a kind of tree 11 a kind of tree 12 a kind of tree 13 passion fruit 14 a medicinal herb 15 chamomille 16 lemon balm 17 lemon grass 18 fig 162

(frutales), underground vegetables or rootcrops (hortaliza), condiments (condimiento), pasture grasses (pastos), wood trees (arboles), vegetables (legumbres), grains (granos), and cereals (cereales) (See Figure 6). Indigenous women include hortaliza and legumbres under the category hortaliza, probably because both groups serve the same purpose in the household and sometimes even are prepared as one dish.19

Figure 6. Local Classification of plants by women in Palmitopamba

Plants

Medicinal underground Cereals Vegetables Pasture Ornamental Plants crops Fruits Grains Wood trees Plants Fruit trees Condiments barley tomato toronjil sweet potato wheat cabbage violeta melloco beans elepante banana guavas achuete rice spinach eucalyptus ortega cassava peanut gramalote papaya rose anona garlic soy beans squash arayan oregano yautia barley higante guava dahlia avocado perejil quinua zuchini cedron cedron oca chocho cicuyo lemon clavel toronjil aji beans brocolli hierba luisa beets wheat king grass orange tocte celantro corn cauliflower mint raddish beans ginairo tomato orange apios banana albaca carrot peanut mandarin papaya pepper celantro potato rice pineapple lemon cinnamon canguil cucumber maracuya onion onions lettuce garlic coffee granadilla albaca lentils apio sugar cane

Pasture grasses, on the other hand, are included in the mestizo categories because a number of people in this community raise cattle and are, therefore, more familiar with grasses eaten by cows.

19 For example, corn and beans are cooked the same way, usually boiled or steamed, and served together as one dish. 163

The category hortaliza which is comprised generally of sweet potato (Ipomea

batatas), melloco (Ullucus Tuberosa), potato, cassava, papa tsina (Xantosoma sp), oca

(Oxalis tuberosa), beets, radish, carrots (Daucus carota), onions (Allium cepa), and garlic

(Allium sativum) are lumped together based on their growing underground. However, other categories including vegetables, grains, condiments, fruit trees, medicinal plants, and fruits do not share same growth habit. Zapallo (squash) and cabbage are classified as legumbres because both crops are used as vegetables in the household. Likewise, onions and peppers are lumped together as condiments because they both add flavor to dishes and are usually used at in a small amount.

The category “fruits” contains other crops such as sugarcane and tomatoes that do not have prototypical characteristics of a fruit. Because sugar cane and tomato are eaten like fruits when they are ripe, they are then included in the “fruits” category. No similar characteristics in terms of morphology and growth habit can be observed among medicinal plants. Cedron (Lippia citriodora), for example, is a kind of tree and hierba luisa is a type of grass plant, but because both plants are used as an infusion to heal common ailments including stomach ache and colds, they are placed together in the medicinal plant group.

To illustrate further that women’s classification of familiar plants is utilitarian rather than hierarchical, certain plants are placed in several different groups. For example, platano or banano (Musa paradisiaca) is included in both vegetable and fruit categories. It is seen as a vegetable when it is still green-- as an ingredient in making soup, similar to other crops listed under the vegetable group -- and considered a fruit when it becomes ripe. Another example is albaca (Ocimum basilicum) which is used and 164 thus classified both as a medicine and as a condiment. Papaya (Carica papaya) is grouped together with other fruits including pineapple and mandarin and is also clumped with fruit trees such as avocado and tocte. Papaya is classified as a fruit because it is mainly eaten fresh or processed as juice and it is classified under the fruit tree because of its morphological feature of having a long, hard trunk. It is worth mentioning also that fruits are still divided into two groups; one is classified on the basis of crop use (e.g. pineapple, ripe banana, tomato, sugarcane) while the other group is based on its use and morphology (e.g. guava, anona, tocte, naranja). The latter group, however, is not lumped with other trees such as eucalyptus (Eucaliptus globulus) because this tree does not produce edible fruits. The latter is classified as arboles (wood trees).

In summary, the manner by which plants are classified by women in these two communities reflects Hunn’s (1982:835) argument that “classification is highly selective and the practical significance of organisms is important in the selection process.” As illustrated by women’s classification system, plants are placed in different categories using various criteria aside from morphological affinities. On one hand, “fruits,”

“medicinal plants,” “fruit trees,” “condiments,” “pasture,” “ornamentals” and

“vegetables,” are classified as such because plants falling under these categories share similar uses in the households. On the other hand, plants belonging to the “wood trees,”

“grains,” and “cereals” groups have similar morphological characteristics, there are crops that overlap and are included because of their specific use. Ellen (1982) further elaborated Hunn’s concept by emphasizing different social contexts that shape the way people classify or categorize plants and animals. According to Ellen, classification can be affected by various factors such as informant’s attributes, contextual variability, and 165 properties of the natural species involved. Certainly, the way indigenous and mestizo women in Ecuador categorize plants is not only non-hierarchical it is dynamic and relational.

Homegarden Maps: Local Categories

A map is a way to connect physical space and social relationships through people’s memory and representations, reflecting the interests and priorities of its makers

(Jescavage-Bernard and Crofoot 1993). Maps are also used to evaluate the relationships of humans with their environment. In fact, more studies have been done about people’s interaction with and use of the environment through cognitive mapping (Garling, Book, and Lindberg 1984; Nazarea 1995; Rocheleau, D., B Thomas-Slayter and D. E Edmunds

1995). A majority of these researches have focused on macro environments such as large watersheds or urban cities. In the process, the immediate and everyday environment is generally taken for granted. Utilization of natural resources including rivers, animals, and plants, for example, is studied by asking people to map a whole watershed while, in fact, similar kinds of information can be generated if a more micro-scale environments are studied. Mapping homegardens, for instance, can provide pertinent information about plants, varieties of plants, and allocation of resources–land and time in particular--that can be significant in the overall use and management of the natural world. The data generated may not be as encompassing in representing a whole watershed or a province, but the information may provide a more in-depth understanding of people’s interaction with nature.

The cognitive mapping technique was used to elicit information from women in both communities about crops grown in homegardens. The women were asked to 166 represent their homegardens for three time periods--the present, the past (10 years ago), and the future (10 years from now) in order to evaluate the perceived changes over time.

Unfortunately, the activity was done all at one time, making it difficult for the women to complete the three maps. Instead of drawing the crops on their “future” maps, the women opted to just list the names of crops that they want to grow. Having the three time period maps can be a good means to elicit information about what crops were lost or added in the homegardens and what type of homegardens will these women want to maintain in the future but the mapping session should not be confined to one sitting.

The maps of three time periods were analyzed to understand the changes taking place in the homegardens through women’s eyes. Crops drawn or written on homegarden maps were organized according to categories of local classification. The data generated were coded and the results were analyzed using the SPSS program. The results were disaggregated based on ethnicity, economic groups, and the ages of women informants.

Based on relative frequency, the women’s homegarden maps were also analyzed to reveal relative salience of crops and different categories of women.

Differences in homegardens by ethnicity

Figures 7 and 8 summarize the results of the garden mapping for women disaggregated by ethnicity. Comparing the frequency of representation of various plants 167

Figure 7. Crop representation by indigenous women

hortalizas/legum pasture Future condiments Present ornamentals Past herbal wood

Crop categories frutas/fruit trees cereal/granos

0 20 40 60 80 100 Percent of informants drawing crop catergoy

Figure 8. Crop representation by mestizo women

hortalizas/legum

pasture

condiments Future ornamentals Present herbal Past

wood Crop categories

frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20 40 60 80 100 Percent of informants drawing crop category 168 in the garden maps of women according to ethnicity, the most important categories for both indigenous and mestizo women are foodcrops that include “cereals/grains”, “fruits”, and “vegetables”. This pattern is particularly true in the maps depicting the present and the future. This implies that the women will maintain the cultivation of these crops if they are already being grown, and, if not, will start planting them in the future. This trend can be explained by the economic hardship that everyone in Ecuador is experiencing at the present time. The currency of Ecuador recently was changed from sucres to the American dollar to stabilize the country’s economy. The process, however, seems to be causing more difficulty for people in rural areas. As a consequence of “dollarization,” prices of commodities are rising and even basic goods such as food items are becoming harder to purchase. Therefore, the importance of the contribution of homegardens to household food security has increased.

The increase in the “pasture” grasses category among the mestizo group on the present map reflects the importance of cattle raising in Palmitopamba. Many varieties of beneficial grasses especially those that enhance milk production in cattle, have disappeared as more and more land area is allotted for sugarcane production. Hence, women “plant” or encourage the growth of various grasses in their garden to make sure that their cows will survive. However, the women foresee that more sugarcane will be planted in the future, eventually affecting the area allocated for pasture. This perception is also reflected in the decline in the percentage of the pasture category in the future maps.

The category “cereal” is more salient to indigenous women while the category

“fruits” is more salient to mestizo women. In the past, mestizo women of Palmitopamba 169 appear to have cultivated fewer numbers and varieties of crops under the cereal category than the women of La Calera, but the cultivation seems to be increasing at the present time. In contrast, the indigenous women grew fewer fruit trees in the past but are starting to expand their cultivation now as evidence by the high percent of informants drawing or mentioning fruit trees on their future maps. Although the representation of “cereals” appears to decrease overall, this crop group remains salient among the indigenous women. The convergence of strategies being employed by women from both areas probably emanates from the fact that both are facing problems of poverty and the continuing depletion of natural resources. Vegetables and other food items are becoming more expensive because of the weakened economy. To alleviate this situation, women from both communities plan to increase the production of basic food items in their future gardens. The decline in the planting of the cereal group among indigenous women could be due to the shrinking land area allocated for homegardens as a result of women expanding their fruit tree production.

The “vegetable” category, shows a similar pattern for both mestizo and indigenous groups. Vegetables have always played a dual role in the household economy as food for subsistence and as cash crops for the market. Hence, they have always been central to the lives of these women. “Vegetables are for the nutritional needs of my family and are also good for the market, hence it is good to cultivate them,” a middle- income mother from indigenous community explained. This example underscores the adaptiveness of homegardens for both mestizo and indigenous women. They are coping with the economic situation of their country by planning to cultivate more foodcrops in the future. 170

The indigenous women drew a greater number of species on their homegarden maps across the three time periods than their mestizo counterparts. Indigenous peoples in different parts of the world are always engaged in plant conservation gaining important knowledge through their long-time experience with plants that is crucial in the continuation and proliferation of biodiversity (Brush 1999; Shiva 1996; Cleveland and

Murray 1997). Aside from considering Mother Earth as sacred and certain plants as worthy of being respected and conserved, indigenous people also engage in the conservation of biodiversity because of various practical reasons. Nazarea (1998:68) emphasizes this issue when she explains why local farmers in the Philippines cultivate different varieties of sweet potato. According to Nazarea, for marginal populations,

“Diversity is actually a natural state of things” due to the multiplicity of criteria for choosing varieties of sweet potatoes for different occasions and seasons, individual tastes, and even for different kinds of farmers.

Differences in homegardens according to age

Figures 9-11 graphically20 summarize the relative frequency of representation of culturally relevant categories of plants by women belonging to different generations.

“Cereals,” “fruits,” and “vegetables” remain the three main crop categories represented by the most women across the three-time periods. This consistent pattern is driven by women’s role in the households, where they are responsible for making sure that food is available on a day-to-day basis. As stated earlier, women are often responsible for all

20 I should point out that because of the limited number of informants, the graphs do not reflect any statistical significance and they are presented to compare the degree of crop representation between ethnic groups and among class status. 171 their families’ agricultural production, especially when husbands and children are engaged in non-farm activities, as illustrated by this example:

“I am the one who attends to the farm since my husband is always out of the country. He sells handicrafts in Colombia. I am responsible for everything: land preparation, renting a tractor or hiring laborers, weeding, and harvesting… There used to be 6 people working with me on the farm- my kids- but since all of them are working outside now, I was left to tend the garden by myself. However, I prefer to work on the farm than to go to other places to work because it is better to cultivate different crops since we do not have money to buy food. We can simply harvest these crops that we planted and use them at home.” Indigenous mother, 57 years old

Figure 9. Crop representation by younger generation (daughters)

vegs/legumes

pasture

condiments

ornamentals future present herbal past

Crop categories wood

frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20406080100 Percent of informants drawing crop category 172

Figure 10. Crop representation by older generation (mothers)

vegs/legumes

pasture

condiments

ornamentals future present herbal past

Crop categories wood

frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20406080100 Percent of informants drawing crop category

Figure 11. Crop representation by oldest generation (grandmothers)

vegs/legumes

pasture

condiments

ornamentals future present herbal past wood Crop categories frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20406080100 Percent of informants drawing crop category 173

In addition to having a high percentage of representation of the three crop categories, particularly cereals and fruits, the oldest generation, the “grandmothers,” also have the highest percentage in the pasture and herbal categories compared with the other two generations. These older women have lived in the area for a long period of time, and they have seen a number of changes in the community. They emphasized the undesirable results of these changes, as illustrated by these quotes from their life histories:

Now agriculture has changed. Now agriculture is bad. Crops do not grow anymore. Now people are using fertilizers. These chemicals force the plants to mature early. Some plants are irrigated using the river while others are dependent on the rain for irrigation. We have to irrigate the crops so that they will give a better yield. During summer, crops do not produce a lot, but on rainy days, grasses are the ones growing. When I was a little girl, I liked cultivating flowering plants. Actually, there were more varieties of crops in the past. Before, there were a lot of leguminous plants and vegetables such as cauliflower, onions, and flowering plants including dahlias, and clavel. Now there are fewer varieties. Indigenous grandmother, 76 years old

Before, all crops were producing well. We used to have different types of cassava such as “morado,” “amarilla,” and “blanco”. We used to have varieties of bananas including “ceda” and “orito”. In the past, we had lots of produce to consume at home, and we even sold some of them in the market. But now, the production is so low that it is not even enough for home consumption. There are lots of pests nowadays. Because people are using a lot of fertilizer, it also changed the flavor of the food. We really had better days in the past. There were lots of grains, now we can hardly find them.” Mestizo grandmother, 88 years old.

Although all age groups underscored the categories of “fruit,” “cereal,” and

“vegetables” on their maps, the third generation future maps shows a dramatic increase in the fruit tree and ornamental categories. While it is true that all generations are being threatened by the impact of development that encroaches even the most rural areas in 174

Ecuador, the third generation is more aware of the environment and its problems because

of their exposure to these issues in school. A 19-year old daughter recognizes the value of

trees as shown by this comment:

I want to cultivate fruit trees in the future because trees purify the air. Now we have a drought problem. All plants are dying because there is no water. There is no water because there are no trees. Before, rivers were abundant with water, now all rivers here in La Calera are drying up.

This level of exposure helps explain why “daughters” give priority to fruit trees on their future maps. The economic issue also surfaced as an important factor that the younger generation has taken into consideration in deciding on what crops to cultivate in the future. As Figure 9 shows, fruit trees are prioritized over wood trees because of their additional value of providing food (fruit) for the household.

Differences in homegardens according to economic status

Economic class is another variable that is important to consider in analyzing the

garden maps (Figures 12-14). It should be noted that “affluence” as defined by local

people, particularly in indigenous communities, does not reflect large differences in

economic conditions. Thus, women in indigenous communities all belong to relatively

low-income groups. Among women in the mestizo area, on the other hand, there is a

larger discrepancy between rich and poor. As with the two previous variables (age and

ethnicity), crop categories that are salient for all economic groups are cereal, fruits, and

vegetables. As shown by their homegarden maps, the women belonging to the low-

income group appear to have cultivated fewer vegetables in the past and are planning to 175

Figure 12. Crop representation by low-income group

hortalizas/legum

pasture

condiments

ornamentals Future Present herbal Past wood Crop categories frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20406080100 Percent of informants drawing crop category

Figure 13. Crop representation by high-income group

hortalizas/legum

pasture

condiments

ornamentals Future Present herbal Past wood Crop categories frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20406080100 Percent of informants drawing crop category 176

Figure 14. Crop representation by middle-income group

hortalizas/legum

pasture

condiments

ornamentals Future Present herbal Past wood Crop categories

frutas/fruit trees

cereal/granos

0 20 40 60 80 100 Percent of informants citing a crop in each category cultivate more vegetable crops in the future. These trends can be attributed to the country’s current poor economic climate. Foodcrops cultivated in the garden are valued not only for food but for their commercial uses as well. Instead of buying food, these women need only to harvest from the homegarden and if the produce will exceed their household needs, it always can be sold.

As indicated by their “future”maps, the low-income and middle-income groups are planning to cultivate more cereal and vegetable crops while the high-income women do not prioritize these crops in the future. Because high-income women can afford to buy staple food and vegetables from the market, they can opt not to cultivate these crops and instead use their time in income-generating activities. Most likely, these women are planning to allot a larger portion of their land to crops such as sugarcane which can be of high value in the market. 177

The percentage of women cultivating wood trees has declined according to the homegarden maps of all three economic groups. However, a more drastic decrease is evident with the high-income group (from 40 percent to 10 percent). As modernization swept these areas, new technologies were introduced including modern amenities for the home. The more affluent families purchased appliances such as gas ranges or ovens, eventually leading to lower utilization of firewood. Families who could not afford to buy appliances continued to maintain trees for firewood. Wood trees have also decreased tremendously in these two areas because of deforestation associated with intensive agriculture. Marcelo Cruz (1999) similarly pointed out that in Colta, Chimborazo,

Ecuador, farmers are changing their lifestyles because of modernization that arrived in rural areas in the form of fertilizer, radios, new clothes, and vehicles.

Another interesting pattern is the decrease in the category of pasture. Livestock, particularly cattle, previously were crucial not only as a source of milk but also as draft animals. The women interviewed mentioned that in today’s farming system, it is more cost effective to rent a tractor than to hire individuals with animals to prepare the land. A woman in her 50s explained:

We prepare the land using the wooden plow, but if I have money I hire a tractor. It costs around $2.00 an hour to rent a tractor or around $10- 15 a day. It is a lot of money, but renting a tractor is still better than hiring a person with an animal because sometimes the person does not work well, and it will take 2-3 days for him to clean the whole area so the cost is doubled. So it is better to rent a tractor for it will only take one day to clean the area. Besides, with a tractor, I don’t have to provide breakfast and lunch to anyone.

178

Relative Salience: Culturally Significant Crops

The researcher’s maps of women’s gardens are used as a point of comparison to evaluate how perceptions of realities differ from the actual physical locations of plants in the garden. These maps were compared to the set of “present” maps drawn by the informants from the two communities.

According to Gould and White (1986:28) people’s action is “affected by that portion of the environment that is actually perceived.” Hence, environmental features that are perceived important will always be highlighted or exaggerated, whether on road maps, building maps, or garden maps. Cognitive maps, Diane Austin (1998) explains, not only represent how people perceive space but also include physical attributes of the place and stories about them. Maps not only represent the physical features of an environment but also epitomize people’s interpretation and perception of realities. After all, all maps reflect the interests of its creators and those who use them (Jescavage-Bernard and

Crofoot 1993). The maps are drawn to different scales and with different objectives. In cognitive maps, people emphasize features that are significant to them.

Garden maps drawn by women in both areas show salient features that can be attributed to different factors affecting women’s perception of reality. The feature that is common in all maps is the presence of the houses. Although instructed to draw their gardens, women from both ethnic groups included their houses on their maps. It can be inferred that women always associate their homes with their gardens. This is related to

Agarwal’s (1992) explanation regarding the materialist basis for why women are closer to the natural environment and Sachs’ (1996) explanation of rural women’s work.

Because of both their traditional roles in the household and the changing global economy, 179 cultivating plants closer to the house would provide the needed food without necessarily engaging in commercial production (Sachs 1996). Furthermore, women’s other family responsibilities such as childcare and food preparation require them to always be close to the house. If homegardens were situated away from the homes, it would be difficult for women to perform all the various tasks associated with the maintenance of home and garden.

Although not present in all informants’ maps, another important feature that is included in a few maps from both groups of women is animals (see Figure 15). Domestic animals have always played an integral part in the families’ agricultural system, especially in rural areas in the Third World (Stephens 1990; SEARICE 1999). Women are responsible for collecting fodder for animals. Some plants being collected for fodder are from homegardens, hence, animals are always associated with the homegarden.

Furthermore, the basic function of a garden in the household is to provide food and/or additional income for the family. Livestock also serve multiple roles in the household.

They serve as assets that families can sell in times of financial difficulty and can be slaughtered for special occasions including weddings and birthdays (Stephens 1990).

In comparing the “objective” (researcher) maps with the maps that local women drew of their homegardens, it is evident that women from both areas do not emphasize the actual physical location and number of plants cultivated in the garden (See Appendix

B). Usually, what is emphasized on maps are the major crops utilized at home. For example, potatoes, corn and beans are always included on maps of indigenous women while banana, cassava, and a few fruit trees are consistently drawn on maps of mestizo women. 180

Figure 15. Sample of homegarden map showing the incorporation of animal in the garden

Other crops such as flowering plants, which are included on my maps, were only incorporated by 20 percent of informants into their drawings. Local names for the majority of ornamental and flowering plants are not known. Also, crops are represented as disproportionately large compared to the house. Some women drew dying flowers to illustrate a lack of water brought about by the drying of the stream located close to the house (See Fig. 16). This stresses the point that a cognitive map represents not just the physical elements of the natural world but also epitomizes processes and relationships among various elements drawn on the maps, for example, the plants and the stream. 181

Figure16. Sample of homegarden map showing the condition of the plants

Among the indigenous women, other structures such as laundry area, oven, and animal pens were included in their homegarden maps. According to Soemarwoto and

Conway (1991), homegarden is considered one of the oldest forms of agroecosystems.

For this reason, people regard it as sustainable unit where various activities in the households are seen as interconnected. The inclusion of other structures such as animal pens and a laundry area, suggests that these structures have a role in the maintenance of homegardens. An animal pen, for example, implies that animals are being raised, creating manure that the women in La Calera, for example, use as fertilizer. Women who have 182 pigs collect the pig droppins from their pen and pile them in one corner of the garden where they also place other waste materials from the kitchen. This compost pile is then used as garden fertilizer as needed.

Rappaport (1979) points out that humans act on the environment based on both the actual world or the operational reality, and how they perceive the world, or their cognized models. Nazarea-Sandoval (1995) investigated this interaction among different categories of rural cultivators through cognitive mapping. She demonstrated that humans tend to filter the various realities with their own models that are affected by various factors including economic condition, social status, ethnicity, and age. Although homegardens exist as a physical entity for the indigenous and mestizo women, they tend to represent actual species of plants and their numbers from different perspectives, based on their association with these biological entities or their functions in women’s lives.

The objective maps might be more accurate in terms of representing what crops are planted in specific locations, what land area is allocated for homegardens, or how many varieties of a certain plant are being cultivated, but they do not represent various interactions that exist in the household. The objective maps also fall short in showing what crops are being prioritized by women of various ethnic and economic backgrounds.

As this study shows, women from these two communities see their homegardens differently because of their different socio-cultural and economic circumstances.

Changes in Inter- and Intra-Crop Diversity

As shown in the three-period homegarden maps, there seems to be an increase in plant species between the past homegardens and the present ones. More vegetables, fruit 183

trees, and ornamental plants have actually been added to the garden and it seems that

based on women’s projections, this trend will continue in the future. Various factors that

could have increased the interspecific crop diversity include the exchange of planting

materials, either seeds or actual plants, among women in these two areas. It is very

common in rural areas to exchange resources and commodities, as this woman explained:

We give or exchange our produce with our neighbors, particularly vegetables such as cauliflower and carrots. We also give medicinal plants when our neighbor’s child is sick. For example the flower clavel. When someone is sick with fever in the family, they come here to ask for clavel. In terms of the amount, it depends on how much we have. We also give some portion of our produce such as corn to people who helped us during planting and harvesting. Mother, La Calera

The study done by Bourque and Warren (1981) in two villages in Peru shows that women are experts in maintaining their kinship and trading networks. They always give gifts or favors to other women because they know that when the time comes that they also need some help, these women to whom they extended some form of favor would reciprocate. It is in the same spirit that planting materials are exchanged among neighbors and friends in these two Ecuadorian villages. Diversity of plants in homegardens increased in the process. It is possible, however, that this kind of exchange might generally cease to exist, particularly for major subsistence crops, because the production is declining every year. One informant said “We are not exchanging seeds with our neighbors. It is hard for us to store the seeds, or to give them away. They are all consumed at home because of small harvests”.

Another possible explanation of the change in diversity is the presence of various

national and international projects that support agricultural production. In La Calera, a

women’s group met to discuss how vegetable seeds donated by a doctor who worked for 184 an international health project should be distributed among the group members. This type of approach is commonly implemented in Third World countries where seeds of crops said to be rich in vitamins and minerals are distributed to rural areas where malnutrition is prevalent. Although the objective is worthwhile, this kind of development strategy does not address the real issues in rural areas. Sometimes, the introduced plants are not even adapted to the local environments or local people do not know how to utilize these plants. Although the introduced seeds augment the plant repertoire, introducing plants that are not appropriate to certain areas is like introducing technology packages without first understanding what local people want and/or need.

Based on my interviews, there is a decline in intra-specific variation of grains and/or cereals and Andean tubers, particularly in the indigenous community of La Calera.

According to the women interviewed, there is a decrease both in the quantity of production and in number of varieties of these traditional crops. The women stated that tubers including oca and melloco are no longer cultivated in the garden because more and more people are cultivating high-yielding varieties of commercial crops. Although potatoes remain a popular crop, older varieties have been replaced by more modern ones.

One woman remembered that her parents used to cultivate five varieties of potatoes with different shapes and colors. Now, she cannot even recall the names of these varieties.

Hence, while interspecific diversity is increasing through plant exchange and introduction, intra-species diversity is in fact decreasing. Cruz (1999) pointed out that the increased market orientation has favored cash crops over the traditional Andean crops.

This pattern reflects two things: the impact of modern agriculture on the two areas, resulting in people tending to allocate more land for crops with high commercial value 185 and the narrowing options development workers provide to local people, particularly women who are the caretakers of homegardens, in terms of the kinds of crops that they can cultivate. As shown in the study by Flora et al. (2001), Palmitopamba is experiencing a drastic landuse change as more and more area is dedicated to sugarcane production. Gurerro et al. further claim that Palmitopamba used to have 15 percent forested area, but at the rate that the area is being cleared at present, they project that not a single hectare of the forest area will remain in the future.

In summary, the analysis of garden maps and actual maps presented here gives only a partial representation of women’s life in the two areas of Ecuador. I singled out patterns or trends that are distinctive among the different variables used in the analysis.

Maintenance or abandonment of homegardens is a reflection of the kind of decisions women have to make in their everyday lives. Because of the potential of homegardens as a good source of food and nutrients for the family and as an additional source of income in the household, some women continue to cultivate and maintain various crops in the garden. Not only does the propagation of homegarden crops help in the conservation of foodcrop diversity, it also provides flexibility for women who rely on different species of crops with various characteristics. These attributes meet the household’s specifications for different uses and play an important role in the maintenance of the resilience of the ecosystem. CHAPTER FIVE

WOMEN AT THE BORDER: MARGINALITY AND EMPOWERMENT

According to Richard Adams (1974), marginalization is a form of social entropy where wealth and political power are concentrated in a group or a region, creating differentiation within a society with power exercised from the top to the bottom; As a result of historical patterns of oppression, individuals or groups of individuals are constrained with limited resources, particularly economic resources (Floyd, Kimberly,

MacGuire, and Noee 1994). Colonization and currently, globalization create a discrepancy between the core and the peripherized countries. The core becomes the center of power and the periphery becomes the marginalized regions. In Latin America, marginality is reflected in urban poverty, rural-urban migration, and creation of shantytowns (Lomnitz 1977). Poor people in cities, who are mostly from rural areas, cannot afford even their basic needs including food and decent housing.

More and more scholars have begun engaging in discourse on power where the concept of marginality is embedded in other issues. Aside from the economic explanation, marginality is now being discussed within socio-cultural, political, and gender contexts. For example, critics of development stress the fact that modernization marginalizes women because they are excluded from development programs (Hirsman

1995; Nzomo 1995; Hamilton 1998). Women are not given access to various services and production units including credit and access to land and if ever they were provided with employment, they were limited to low-wage, temporary positions. 187

While efforts are now in place to integrate women into the development agenda with the end goal of “empowering” them, the marginalization of women in the Third

World remains unresolved. According to Mohanty (1991), the process by which women are viewed as a homogenous population and the solution of women’s oppression through a universal approach, freezes Third World women in time, space, and history. The approach denies the problems, or achievements, history, and resources of Third World women. It was developed using a single encompassing paradigm based mainly on women’s condition in western society. Furthermore, the approach does not address women’s marginalization which cuts across class lines (Hamilton 1998). In some instances, the process of development has improved the conditions for some women but exacerbated those of others (Kabeer 1994; Parpart and Marchant 1998).

Among other scholars who have studied other aspects of marginality, Ana Tsing

(1993) analyzed women in an already marginalized population of Indonesia in terms of how women in this area used marginal position to empower themselves in different ways.

According to Tsing (1993), the study of marginality should be addressed beyond rereading the dominant theories and should focus on the specificity of women’s position in relation to their socio-cultural, economic, and historical contexts. She further explained that women’s marginal condition can be analyzed using the border perspective, wherein there is an imagined other side. People’s ability to cross this border guides them “toward intersections of power and difference,” where multiple possibilities can give them agency without neglecting its constraints (Tsing 1993:21). Bourqe and Warren (1981) point out that even in a patrilineal, patrilocal, and patriarchal society, women practice certain kinds 188 of power by mediating between kin groups, influencing men’s political careers, and in serving as midwives and healers.

This chapter focuses on various issues related to marginality, its impact on women, as well as how women work around this marginal position to their advantage. As mentioned earlier, women particularly those who are in the Third World, do not always perceive their position in a patriarchal system as oppressive. Women in Latin America, for example, enjoy their status as wives and mothers because they control the domestic sphere and activity about which their husbands have little access to or knowledge about

(Bourque and Warren 1981). Women’s control over the private sphere compensates their limited participation in the public world.

How women build and maintain relationships that help them face challenges brought about by the changing economic condition is presented using social network analysis. According to Thompson (1973), networks are ways by which individuals establish mutually beneficial, though not necessarily equal, relationships. Building alliances through social networks helps women in empowering each other and achieve certain goals that cannot be accomplished alone (Townsend 1999). Furthermore, network models analyze individuals as interdependent parts being affected by environmental constraints and opportunities (Wasserman and Galaskiewicz 1994).

How women from various economic groups allocate their time in performing different activities within and outside their homes is evaluated using time allocation method. Since people are affected differently by economic transformations, activities of individuals vary depending on available resources. Sometimes, the only activities taken into consideration in planning development projects are those considered economically 189 viable. Domestic chores and other tasks, usually performed by women and, therefore, seen as “ordinary” are ignored (Gross 1984).

All these methods of analysis are contextualized using life histories that women in these two areas have willingly shared. I attempt to give voice to their dreams and aspirations in relation to development. Both government and nongovernment organizations play crucial roles in the implementation or non implementation of development projects but it is the women themselves who perceive and evaluate these changes and make decisions on how to allocate their time, energy, and other resources. It is also them who try to navigate within the new opportunities and constraints.

Social Structure: Links and Networks

The study of how people relate and network with one another has been analyzed by many scholars. Mitchell (1987), who conducted various studies on social networks, emphasizes the value of ties, whether strong or weak, among individuals who belong to certain networks. Huttner, Fransson, and Person (1990) depict social networks as a circle representing the social connections of persons in which the individual (the respondent) is the anchorpoint. The circle is comprised mostly of kin and housemates as well as friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Johnson (1994) discusses the history and development of social networks both as a method and as a theoretical approach to understand people’s interaction. He presents two ways of studying networks: the whole network and the ego network. The first focuses on relationships and structures existing among members of the society, while the latter begins with individuals and traces their relationships with the other non-ego members. 190

The study of social networks usually uses a set of questions (see, for example,

Dykstra 1990; Knipscheer and Antonucci 1990). A questionnaire is formulated based on the kind of relations needing to be analyzed. The technique usually makes use of name listing in which respondents are asked to identify the people on the list and to explain how they are connected with one another. For this research, 25 women, 13 in

Palmitopamba and 12 in Cotacachi, were asked to name individuals with whom they interacted. The goal of obtaining a free listing of the kind of relationships that exist among villagers and the variables that the informants are taking into account in positioning the names precluded the use of a questionnaire in my research. After the names were provided, they were written on strip of papers. Each respondent was then asked to arrange the strips of paper in relation to where her name was positioned at the center as ego. The rest of the strips of papers containing people’s names were placed in whatever way the informant wanted them to be placed (See figures 17 and 18 for examples).

Figure 17. Example of a mestizo woman’s cultural representation of her social network

EGO neighbors

mother Friends Brothers Children Husband

Don Fernando 191

Figure 18. Example of an indigenous woman’s actual representation of her social network.

President of Parents the community Brothers EGO

Women’s Youth organization Organization

Each respondent was then asked to explain how she is related to the different individuals, why she placed these people in such order, and why particular individuals are placed closer to or farther from herself, the ego.

Dykstra (1990) pointed out that relationships do not just happen; they must be created and maintained or kept alive. However, relationships such as kinship are not intentional. In his study among Ndendeuli of Tanzania, Gulliver (1971: 17) described kin or universe of kin as the “totality of all those people with whom an ego is related by cognatic and affinal links.” But Gulliver added that kin-set can be comprised of those individuals with whom the person or the ego maintains a close and active relationship involving interdependence and interaction. Hence, relationships can be a product of natural association, as with kinship or as a result of interaction among individuals over time regardless of blood links. 192

In Palmitopamba and La Calera, kins or relatives including children, parents husband, and siblings play crucial roles in the social lives of the women. Truex (1981) points out that kinship does not require integration or institutionalization, since the people are already interconnected. On the other hand in the present research, women’s explanations of why these individuals were closest to them did not point to blood relation as the only reason. Although, “being part of me” seems to be one of the most frequent explanations, other reasons mentioned by the informants include the following: 1) emotional support as expressed by informants’ description of their feelings towards the non-ego individuals such as “love them so much and very important in life,” 2) financial support given by other person(s) in terms of giving money or providing material support to alleviate their condition, 3) social support includes sharing responsibilities at home and exchanging favors, and 4) physical closeness where physical proximity is taken into consideration in positioning/ranking various people. Among these four categories, emotional and social supports were identified by Bernard et al. (1990) as common in the analysis of social networks. According to these authors, emotional support groups are comprised mainly of persons who have intimate relations with the ego while social support groups are larger networks that do not necessarily need emotional intimacy as long as favor or help is given and reciprocated among the network members.

The results also show that both affinal and lineage relatives are important to women’s lives. In fact, the ranking or positioning of individuals who are either related to the women by blood or marriage can be interchanged as far as the first, second, and third positions are concerned. In some cases, children and/or parents are placed closest to the ego and the husband is placed second while in other instances the husband is ranked first, 193 followed by parents or children. Sometimes all three are placed in the same position since, according to the respondents, these people are equally important in their lives.

Responses from both areas show that emotional support is the most prominent-- with 49 percent of informants citing these reasons. This is followed by social support (16 percent), financial support (16 percent), and physical proximity (11 percent), with the remaining 7 percent of responses pointing to the husband’s relevance in terms of him being the father of their children. Generally, children were ranked first or placed closest to the ego because children are considered an inseparable part of women’s lives.

Alternatively, parents were placed first because they gave life to the respondents, who feel indebted for this gift. It is interesting to note, however, that in both areas, the mother was singled-out by informants as one person who always helps them in times of need.

Sometimes, instead of citing parents in a single category, mother and father were mentioned separately, with the mother always being positioned closer to the ego than the father. Mothers and daughters have a close relationship because they share responsibilities at home and in the community and because they work, travel, and socialize together. Thus, mother and daughter constantly provide mutual support to one another.

Psychologists have explained that the mother-daughter bond as something that can be traced back to childhood, when children are becoming aware that sex is a permanent personal characteristic. Identity is being created in the process of sexual association. Hence activities occurring in childhood play groups build gendered knowledge that eventually leads to unequal relationship between the sexes (Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin 1999). Emma Zapata (1999) explains that same-sex interaction has 194

more to do with the type of support system that women give to each other. Gendered-

centered support groups usually help women find strength and power. In fact, social

support is not only given by women from the same family but is also provided by women

from other non-related members. The study by Bourque and Warren (1981) among the

Mayobamba women in Peru shows that women from various economic strata maintain

not only close relations with their kinship network but also with their trading networks.

For example, some women depended on their female-centered social networks to

compensate for the lack of labor assistance in their families while others used their

networks in trading and household maintenance. In addition, women tend to belong to

small groups organized around social activities (Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin 1999). It is

apparent that differences in constraints and opportunities brought about by the positions

of men and women in the society explain the gender disparity in the social network

(Dykstra 1990).

Although the abovementioned trends are common to both research sites, other

trends are more distinctive and characteristic of one or the other. For example,

community leaders1 are more prominent in the indigenous community while public servant2 is more important among the mestizo group. This difference may be due to the

fact that among indigenous communities, improvements in the condition of the village

depend heavily on the ability of the leader to negotiate various development projects with

the higher officials in the municipality. This was highlighted by the informants when they

mentioned that the development of the community was made possible by their leader,

who has a good relationship with the municipal officials. In Palmitopamba, public

1 Community leaders include heads of the villages, president of various organizations such as women’s organization, water group, and other local officials. 195 services and facilities are important because of its distance from the urban center --three hours from the capital, Quito. Landslides are fairly common, making it difficult for the people to go in and out of the village. The government provides medical and dental services to the people in the village for free, generally without the need for intercession by a particular community leader. One side-benefit to the presence of the public clinic in

Palmitopamba is that it gives the women opportunities to engage in other income- generating activities such as vending food to people from other communities who go to

Palmitopamba for a check-up.

It is apparent that the immediate family is considered the most important support group in both villages because family members are the ones who give long-term commitment to one another (Tilburg 1990). For example, the care of young unmarried mothers in both areas is one indicator that no matter what decisions that each member of the family makes, either with bad or good consequences, the immediate family never turns its back to its members and is always there to give support. These unmarried women are always accepted at home, with the parents giving financial and social support to the younger women who are about to become mothers.

The worsening condition of women in rural areas as they become more marginalized by commercialization of agriculture and the process of urbanization further enhances the existing relationships of mutual support among members of the community.

As this study demonstrates, blood relatives are important to women because they fill in gaps created by the transforming economy and serve as a safety net during hard times. As mentioned earlier, women depend on their relatives as well as non-related women’s

2 Public servants are comprised of government officials, teachers, doctors, nurses, and religious people. 196 groups for various support, including commercial trading, labor exchange, and household maintenance.

Ever since agriculture was transformed into a cash economy, the majority of commercial crops produced by men have been sold in major markets. As a rule, the money obtained from selling the commercial crops is used to buy materials and supplies for the next cropping season. Consequently, household needs are sacrificed, forcing women to engage in other income-generating activities through their social networks in order to provide for households’ daily needs. For instance, crops being produced by women in their homegardens or in agricultural areas abandoned by men are sold to or exchanged with their neighbors and friends. Individuals who are not part of the family but as part of the womens’ networks are also valued because they provide other services and support not given by the immediate family. Credit representation in the community and emotional support are examples of what other people in the community give to women through various social networks.

Time: The Limiting Factor

The decision-making process among family members can better be understood if decisions made by individuals are measured vis a vis their actions. Sometimes when asked about who makes the decisions in the family or how much time is spent in certain activities, family members tend to give responses congruent with the idealized role a member holds in the family. In the Philippines, for example, when family members are asked to identify who spends more time on the farm, the typical response is the father or the male in the household (personal observation). In reality, however, women spend as 197

much time on the farm as their male counterparts, usually engaging in maintenance tasks

that are glossed over in the whole agricultural process. It is in this regard that other

research methods such as time allocation studies are helpful in verifying information

collected through interviews.

Time allocation, according to Daniel Gross (1984), is a technique that answers

various research questions and measures different aspects of people’s everyday lives,

including rates of goods being produced, social interaction, group behavior, and role

performance. Time allocation gives quantitative information regarding activities of each

member of the household. The data collected also reflect the kind of constraints that each

member encounters in his or her daily life. The analysis of contributions to subsistence

and household welfare through time allocation studies consciously takes into account the

roles of the often-neglected members of households, such as children, elders, and women.

In order to analyze women’s activities as they relate to their day-to-day decision-

making process, the amount of time that each key informant spent on various activities

each day was examined. However, it was impossible to use the conventional technique of

either spot or focal sampling3 at the two sites because a majority of the informants were

uncomfortable being observed. Because of the importance placed on privacy by these

women, I resorted to activity recall. The informants were asked to recall the activities that

they performed on the previous day for two days and the data from these two days were

averaged. Admittedly, one major limitation is that the data generated through this method

have been filtered through selective memory and thus may be inaccurate. However, this

3 Spot sampling records the behavior of individuals randomly over a period of time while focal sampling focuses on individuals and monitors them continuously for a period of time (Bernard and Killworth 1993). 198 technique still helps in understanding the type of constraints that each woman has to face in performing certain activities or in deciding which action to take first.4

This section focuses on time allocation by women key informants. As mentioned in Chapter 2, most writing about oppression and discrimination have focused on differences between male and female, thus veiling the inequalities existing within the same gender as a function of class or ethnicity. For this reason, the data for time allocation are disaggregated according to factors that affect women. In addition, unlike a majority of studies done about time allocation of women where activities were evaluated in terms of only two major categories, i.e. home- versus market–oriented activities

(Evenson 1978), the present study separated women’s activities into several categories.

Women often perform various tasks in the households simultaneously, and this characteristic feature of women’s work needs to be recognized in time allocation analysis. I would like reiterate, however, that because the method used was activity recall, I suspect women were omitting other activities that they simultaneous performed along with the “major” chores. This could have a bearing in the distribution of time allocated to various activities.

Nazarea (1987) did a study on the island of Palawan, Philippines, where she identified important issues that influence local people’s decision-making process, emphasizing the impact of development projects on different occupational groups.

4 Another constraint in simply doing the activity recall was the negligence of time spent in the homegarden. This scenario can be explained in two ways: women do not tend to their garden daily and the days on which they were asked their activities, were not the days that they usually work in the garden. Another possibility is that even though women normally would be working in their garden during the time of the interview, they did not think of it as a major activity because homegarden maintenance is not always given precedence among the household activities. 199

Using the same categories that Nazarea used, this study focuses on the time allocation that women from the two research sites have used in performing various tasks within and outside the households. These categories include:

1) childcare--activities involving caring for children, 2) personal care--bathing or cleaning oneself, 3) symbiotic purposive—spending time in a mutually beneficial exchange or association with others, 4) petty business--all types of small-scale enterprises, 5) cleaning and maintenance--domestic work to maintain the house, 6) service-- activities related to the community, 7) food preparation--all stages of food preparation, 8) recreational--socialization with members of the family and other villagers, 9) agriculture--farming and animal husbandry, and 10) solitary leisure—relaxation time spent alone.

Time is a “human resource that is equitably distributed and universally available.

It is not subject to direct human competition” but is limited by the individual’s access to resources and the intervention of social structure and cultural codes (Nazarea 1995:143).

Its use therefore is highly influenced by availability or unavailability of resources. In this study, class and ethnicity are the variables used in analyzing time allocation. As shown in

Figures 20 and 21, how women spent their time varies significantly according to these variables.

Although differences exist, it can be deduced from activity recall that women in both villages and across class groups devote much of their time to recreational and food preparation activities. These activities include eating or watching television together with other members of the family or talking with neighbors. In Weismantel’s (1988) study 200 among the Zumbagua people in Ecuador where she analyzed the role of food in the culture of Zumbagua people, she reports that the “kitchen in Zumbagua is the locus of early socialization, not only through social interaction but also through the sense experiences of taste, touch, and smell…” (1988:25). For women, eating together is an important way for family members to socialize and interact with one another. In my host family in Palmitopamba, for example, it is an unwritten rule that nobody eats meals without the presence of all the members of the family. In La Calera, on the other hand, eating together in front of the hearth5 is an occasion for sharing jokes and stories.

Not only do women spend time with family members, but they also engage in neighborly interactions with other members of the community. Early in the morning is the best time to observe how villagers interact with one another. On her way to the farm to milk the cow, for example, a mother stops for a while to chat with her neighbor, or in buying the morning bread, mothers exchange news and discuss their views regarding the previous night’s shows on television. The village store is another place where most of the gossip is exchanged.

Preparing meals in Ecuador entails more than just cooking the basic ingredients of the dish. For families who do not own a gas range, as is the case of the majority of the people in La Calera, mothers have to collect firewood before cooking. The basic soup ingredients such as quinua or wheat and meat always need ample time to tenderize. Rice and side dishes also take a couple of hours to prepare. Onother limitation of the activity recall technique is that the women generally underestimated the time devoted to the various tasks associated with meal preparation.

5 If meal is comprised only of boiled corn or potatoes, family members usually gather around the fireplace while eating a fresh cob of corn, taken from a boiling pot. Aji and salt are passed around. 201

It is common for women in Ecuador, as well as in other parts of the world, to perform various tasks simultaneously (Hamilton 1992). In one social function I participated in, a woman joined in harvesting wheat for a town's fiesta while carrying her baby on her back. If this woman's activities were fully identified, she was engaging in agricultural, symbiotic purposive, and child-rearing activities all at the same time. When women perform different household chores simultaneously, they tend to account only the primary task in activity recall. These women may think only of the major activity they intended to perform at that specific time, such as cooking, while ignoring the minor ones that they do concurrently6 such as sweeping the floor or cleaning the kitchen.

Although women from both areas and from different economic groups spend the majority of their time performing activities associated with the house (e.g., food preparation and cleaning), they allot plenty of time for tasks that are not closely linked to their reproductive role. In both communities, the women also perform activities related to agriculture as well as other pursuits related to income-generation.

Even if women from the two research sites spend similar amounts of time performing various activities, differences exist among various socio-economic and ethnic groups in regard to allocating time. As in the case of other changes, economic transformation impacts these women in a variety of ways. As activities are altered, women from these two areas use their time in coping with this transition. The following discussion analyzes variation of time allocation by women belonging to different ethnic groups and economic statuses.

6 Women in both areas are often observed engaging in multiple tasks simultaneously. For example, while talking to her neighbors, a woman would be removing weeds from her garden or grooming her children. 202

Ethnicity

Figure 19 shows that indigenous and mestizo women both spend significant amount of time on activities that involve maintenance and cleaning of the house

Figure 20. Time Allocation of Women by Ethnicity

7 6 5 4 3 2

Ave. time spent (hour) 1 0 al n g e al s re al re re e ion atio nin ag ltur nes sive isu ltur ca a rvic at ar ea W cu usi rpo Le cu ild alc Se cre rep /cl gri b pu ry gri Ch son Re d p nce A etty tic lita n-a er oo na P bio So No P F inte ym Ma S activities La Calera Palmitopamba including food preparation. According to Bourque and Warren (1981), the contribution of women in maintaining the family is critically important, particularly in assuring that food is prepared, the house is cleaned, and clothes are washed. In Ecuador, women always spend a significant amount of time performing these tasks. It is interesting to note the small amounts of time devoted to personal care while they are awake (on the average, less than 25 minutes for mestizo women and less than 20 minutes for indigenous women). As can be expected, when an individual devotes a greater amount of time to one 203

activity, the individual’s time to perform other tasks is proportionately lessened (Gronau

1977). Since the majority of these women spend most of their time attending to

household needs, time for other social, and personal activities is reduced.

Although similarities are observed between these two ethnic groups, only the

indigenous women spend a significant amount of time in wage labor.7 As explained in previous chapters, the economic condition in La Calera is worse than in Palmitopamba.

To augment income, women in La Calera work outside their homes, either as domestic helpers or hotel wage laborers. However, the women in La Calera also spend more time in social and recreational activities. This result can best be explained using a historical context.

Since globalization intensified in Ecuador in the form of import liberalization and oil exportation8 a majority of the people became more impoverished (Crain 1990). While

urban workers, mostly mestizos, became polarized because of this process, indigenous

people turned inward to their community for economic and social support. This tight

relationship among indigenous people actually goes back to the pre-colonial period. The

segregation of indigenous people from the mestizos and Spanish during the Spanish era

reinforced this situation as traditional settlements and the indigenous ways of life

continued to be practiced (Crain 1990). After the Spanish regime, the racial hierarchies

remained intact, but there were some efforts to integrate the indigenous people into the

dominant system, mainly by religious organizations. Nonetheless, many indigenous

people opposed the integration primarily because the approach exacerbated their

condition. Most of the people who were “fighting for indigenous peoples’ rights” owned

7 Sample size might also have some bearing on the analysis. 8 Historical overview of Ecuadorian development is discussed in detail in Chapter 1. 204

big parcels of land and only wanted to have a steady supply of labor. “Helping” the

indigenous people would in fact make the former dependent on the landowners.

Recently, new leaders of the country began to formulate development plans to

redefine national identity. In the past, the Ecuadorian identity was created using western

models but the new leaders, aware that the indigenous people are the backbone of

Ecuadorian’s economy, have attempted to strengthen the indigenous identity by linking

indigenous people to national concerns (Crain 1990; Korovkin 1997). Various groups

were formed from national to community levels that became representatives of the

Indigenous people. Nowadays, this process of strengthening the indigenous identity is

encouraged at various levels (Clark 1998). The creation of indigenous identify is

reinforced by communal rituals performed at different times of the year. Most of these

rituals are associated with week-long festivities, usually celebrated with drinking and

eating. This could explain why time allocation revealed that indigenous women spent

more time in recreational activity than mestizo women.

The more salient categories of time allocation activities in Palmitopamba are

solitary leisure, petty business, and agricultural activities. The population of

Palmitopamba has “significant “Evangelical” component. While services for Catholics

are done very rarely, usually once a month, the Evangelists perform religious worship

twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays and spend several hours a day in

contemplation and personal prayer. This could be one explanation why the solitary

“leisure” activity is very prominent among these women.

Since Palimtopamba is primarily involved in commercial production of one crop, sugarcane, both males and females spend significant number of hours working on their 205 farm or on other people’s farms. This is in contrast to La Calera, where garden crops are for home consumption. As a result, activities related to farming or gardening are not constrained by the demands of the schedule of market, making it possible for indigenous women to work their own pace. In Pamitopamba, mestizo women and men are dictated by the production of homogenous crop. If people from this community do not produce the cash crop, their ability to purchase food is severely affected.

Class

Figure 20 disaggregates the time allocation of three economic groups of women at each site. The groups were categorized using the women’s own classification, as

Figure 23. Time Allocation of Women by Economic groups

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Ave. time spent (hour) 1 0 e s l l e l e ag es ra ura ic ive ure na ing ion ar are W in ltu ult erv os is tio an rat d c l c us ricu ric S urp Le rea cle pa hil na ty b ag Ag p ry ec e/ re C so et n- tic lita R nc d p er P No bio So na oo P ym inte F Low-income S Ma Middle-income Activities High-income 206 discussed in Chapter 3. The greatest degree of similarity among the three class groups exist in relation to recreational activities that involve socialization with members of the family and other members of the community. Still, a slight difference indicates that middle-income women spend the most time in recreation while low-income women spend least time on this activity. Furthermore, small amount of time is spent by low- income women on activities that solicit mutual interaction with the other members of the community (symbiotic purposive) as one middle-class informant explained:

Poor women do not want to attend any meetings because they do not have the facilities that are being discussed in these kinds of meetings. They do not care since they don’t have water coming from the faucet. Instead of using water from the faucet in cleaning their clothes or dishes, they just go to the river to wash.

Since they own bigger farms with more complicated operations, high economic status women spend more time than any other group in agricultural activities. One explanation why the other two groups spend less time in agriculture is that, not owning their own land, or a parcel big enough for large-scale operations, women in the midlle- and low-income groups allot more time either in wage labor or in petty business.

According to Pitkin and Bedoya (1997), one of Latin American women’s responses to economic crises is through informal sector work, involving various income-generating activities such as sewing, embroidering, store keeping, and handicrafts. Because women from low- and middle- income families in both communities have to look for immediate cash for household expenses, they have to neglect (at least for the time being) their farms and homegardens. Besides, the produce that they get from their farms is mainly for home consumption while high-income women depend on their farms for their income sources. 207

Although the graph shows that only a small amount of their time is spent on non- agricultural undertakings and services to other people, rich women are the only ones who allocate time for these activities. In the mestizo community, although big landowners do not do the work themselves, they spend significant amounts of time in the field supervising their laborers. In the indigenous community, it is very rare even for families who are perceived as wealthy to hire laborers to work on their farm. If these families do hire other people to work for them, the women and other family members often participate in all the farming activities as well.

In regard to non-agricultural undertakings, some high-income families identified in Palmitopamba own sugarcane refineries that they also supervise or work directly. In La

Calera, high-income women engage in non-agricultural supervision of laborers in a factory where clothes are made. Again, since only few laborers work in these factories, each family member must actively contribute to the whole production process. Another interesting category that is salient for the high-income group is the time spent in food preparation. Comparatively speaking, both the middle- and low-income groups allocate more hours in food preparation than the high-income women. While assumption might be that well-to-do families would have more food to prepare than the middle-or low-income groups, high-income women can afford to hire other people to perform some domestic chores for them, thus liberating their time for the pursuit of social obligations and productive work.

The only category that is more dominant for low-income women than for other groups is the wage category. This is understandable since majority of women who belong to this economic group do not own large parcels of land or business establishments that 208 sustain their daily lives. It is only through working as laborers that some of these families manage to receive daily income.

Of the three groups, middle-income women allot the most hours to petty business.

Unlike the high-income women who have more established agriculture and business enterprises, middle-income women do not have to resort to small, informal income generating activities. However, they engage in income-generating activities that are more stable than the low-income group, who usually depend on daily labor. The middle- income group also spends the fewest hours on solitary leisure as compared to the other two economic groups. One possible explanation is that middle-income women cannot afford to spend time doing nothing since this could move them to a lower economic status. By comparison, the high-income group can afford to hire house or farm helpers to free them from their other responsibilities while low-income women have nothing to lose if they spend more time cleaning the house, preparing food, or doing nothing. They have gotten used to eating less than three times a day.

In summary, the analysis of time spent by women from various ethnic and economic groups in performing various activities illustrates how women adopt to socio- economic, political, and environmental changes. While studies on time allocation usually focus on men and women, this research highlights the variation of time allocated by different women in undertaking their productive and reproductive tasks. The analysis underlines how women’s decisions are constrained by the availability of resources and their support system (Kimhi 1998). Because of the worsening economy in Ecuador, the women in these two areas need to cut short some activities in order to allocate more time for a more income-generating ones (Gronau 1977). 209

The Decision Making at the Border

Drawing from the works of Anzuldua (1987), Tsing (1992), and Wilson and

Donnan (1998), I conceptualize middle-income women as being positioned at the border because they are not part of the dominant system--the high-income group--and at the same time do not belong to the lowest stratum of women who are unable to express their opinions or carry out their decisions for lack of power or capital (borderland and border theory are also discussed in Chapters 2 and 3). In terms of gender roles and status in the households and in the community, women in the middle economic status have more freedom in making decisions about the farm, the house, and themselves. This is particularly true among women in the mestizo community, where informants who belong to the middle-income group show more aggressiveness in letting their partners know that their opinion also matters. In my host family, for example, the mother has equal power in deciding certain issues that not only pertain to reproductive roles but to productive roles as well. In one instance, my foster mother talked with her husband about wanting to raise and sell chickens. The husband disagreed in the beginning, but due to her persistence, finally gave in. Furthermore, in their households, both parents participate in decisions regarding their children’s education. In another middle-income household, both husband and wife manage the store. The farm is mainly maintained by the husband, but the wife is responsible for procuring seeds. In this particular situation, both husband and wife decide on what to plant although the husband does the planting while the wife does the purchasing.

Participation of high-income and low-income women in the decision-making process in the household is not as active as that of the middle-income women. In one 210 family considered rich by the villagers, the wife usually stays at home. Another rich woman usually hides and lets her husband do the talking when they have visitors (The husband explained that his wife is shy). Low-income women hesitate to participate or are not allowed to participate in discussions. In fact, in community meetings, women who are perceived to be in the middle-class group are the ones who are very active in voicing their opinions. Women who are rich and those who are poor either attend the community meetings but do not talk or do not attend any meetings at all.

The behavior of high-income women is explained by their socialization, which prescribes cultural models for women to behave appropriately by staying within the domestic sphere and fulfilling their traditional role of nurturing their families (Miles

1997). Miles points out that urban women are not expected to be competent in the public sphere since their principal role is in the home. This concept, however, is not only true among the elite women from urban areas. As my research shows, it is also true among low-income women in rural areas. Even in the most private decisions pertaining to their bodies and their time, lower-income women rarely have the opportunity to be part of the decision-making process, much less to make the decision. In Palmitopamba, for example, when a mother pregnant with her ninth child was asked her if she prefers to have a large family, she responded that “it is my husband’s decision.” During community meetings, low-income women make no input as a rule. Poor women say that it is just a waste of time listening to the same old issues that are never resolved.

The situation in La Calera is slightly different. Aside from the fact that comparatively, the economic condition of women in this community is poorer than women in Palmitopamba, a majority of the men work outside the community. 211

Consequently, women manage the houses and farms single-handedly, assuming multiple responsibilities in agricultural production and in other family undertakings.

Because women in La Calera are for the most part in charge of agriculture they have more opportunities to play significant roles in the decision- making process on the farm and in the community. In fact, some women become the sole decision-maker in the family for prolonged periods because their husbands seldom return home. According to

Mckee (1997), indigenous women had played equal roles in production with men prior to the country’s becoming a capitalist society. The roles were even more prominent for women who were successful in food production and handicraft making. Hence, the present situation where women in La Calera participate in the decision making process related to the farm is based firmly on historical antecedents. The only difference now is that women’s responsibilities have doubled since the tasks are no longer being shared with the husbands; now men leave their wives to deal with farm and household responsibilities. Development thus tends to exacerbate the marginalization of women by replacing equality between men and women with a double burden or limited time for the women.

In the process of development, both indigenous and mestizo women experience various changes and are placed in a position where their role and identity are continuously shifting. For indigenous women, responsibilities both in the household and on the farm have increased. However, this change also made it possible for them to have a bigger role in the decision-making process. In the mestizo community, women’s roles are no longer confined to the private sphere but have expanded into the public sphere. It should be noted, however, that most of these changes were caused by the impact of 212 worsening economic conditions, and that increased say in decision making has come at a price. Mestizo women for instance are forced to work outside their homes on other people’s farm to help increase the family’s income.

For these women, the changing world grants them the chance to move beyond the traditional role of being a mother or a wife. According to two women:

In the past, women only worked on the farm, planting. Of course they also work at home but it was not a lot. Women were only working at home and in the farm. Now they have different types of work. Women now work in the city and engage in business. They earn a lot of money now. Education is also better now for women. Women learn and understand more than what they used to know. Before, fathers would not allow their daughters to go to school. Only the sons could do it. Before, women were only allowed to work at home, to attend to their husbands’ needs. Now, not anymore. Middle-income mother, La Calera

Before, women in this community could not make any decision in the house and on the community. Their responsibility only included working at home, cooking and things like that. Now however, women have changed their status, and they are even helping in the improvement of the community. For example, my mother is the one who makes major decisions in our family. I really like that-for women to be liberated. Husbands, however, should help them as well. Middle-income daughter, Palmitopamba

Within these changes, impacts are experienced differently by the women in various groups. Some ethnic or economic groups might be positively affected while other groups suffer as a consequence. Yet, there are always those who make their situation better, even when negotiating from a much-constrained position. Either through social networks or ability to manage their time and resources, some women successfully negotiate realities in order to survive their day-to-day challenges. 213

As discussed in this chapter, middle-income women are willing to give up the possibility of becoming part of a higher economic group because they are aware of the price that they have to pay if they become part of the dominant group. Being in that bordered space gives them power to balance situations and they can look for better opportunities without overstretching the expected boundaries. Consistent with the concept of borderlands, the position of these women is permeable (Hannerz 1997:540).

They live at the periphery of the hegemonic world where they are not significantly subject to control and dominance (Tsing 1993). Furthermore, these women at the border have greater ability to cross frontiers where they can connect the best of both worlds to negotiate relations. Sometimes border women allow subordination in order to achieve a higher goal (Anzuldua 1987). Indigenous women, for example, accept greater responsibilities when their husbands leave to work outside the village but in the process, these women gain the confidence to assume the role of household head. For these women, marginality is a state where they find strength in supporting one another in a space like a borderland where there is “in between, a contact zone, an area where discontinuities become blurred,” a space where they have to give something in order to gain more (Hannerz 1997:540). CHAPTER SIX

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Toward a Recognition of Differences

Achieving western type development has been the goal of many Third World countries since the Second World War. Various development theories notably modernization, but also incorporating influences from Marxist, world system, and dependency theories were used as guidelines with the aim of uplifting the condition of people in developing countries. These economic approaches were geared toward gaining capitalist profit through modernization, urbanization, and commercialization of agriculture. Ecuador, for example, has transformed its economic and political systems over the years to cater to the demand of international players and to have a share of the so-called development. Ultimately, however, impacts of the economic transformation are beneficial only to some countries but not to others.

While many Third World countries have adopted the economic strategies of the

First World, many scholars continue to question its impacts on the target beneficiaries, especially groups that are only indirectly involved in the process. For example, women become invisible as different economic strategies are implemented in developing countries. Their work is ignored unless it directly contributes to the country’s gross national product. Activities that women engage in such as household chores, child rearing, and tending homegardens, are not considered “work” by many development planners and implementers, making feminist scholars contest the way development 215 neglected women. When the paradigm started incorporating women, other problems surfaced since the focus of integration was still associated with women’s traditional roles— food and health providers and home caretakers.

In Ecuador, many groups of different economic, ethnic, and gender backgrounds are affected by the socioeconomic transformation happening in the country since the colonial period. During the early colonial era the relationship between the colonizers and local people was generally abusive. The colonizers treated the locals, especially the indigenous people, as slaves to work on large farms or as laborers in big cities. Local people were forced to work in agricultural production with little compensation resulting in the decline of economy towards the latter part of the colonial era. Indigenous people were viewed as second-class citizens while the colonizers and mestizos were regarded as the superior groups.

When World War II ended, new economic approaches were implemented in

Ecuador, emphasizing production of certain crops like banana and coffee, and the exportation of oil that encouraged the migration of people, particularly of men to urban areas. As a result, the pattern of growth was unequal. The urban area received all the financial and infrastructural support, worsening the condition in rural regions. As the exportation industry worsened, more policies including import substitution, provision of credit to rural communities, and commercialization of agriculture were developed by the

Ecuadorian government. Both the IMF and WB played significant roles in their implementation. The continuing situation of uneven development affects people from various regions in different ways. 216

The impacts of these types of economic strategies should be understood in such a way that different individuals or group of individuals all are taken into consideration.

Development approaches should be analyzed using various parameters or indicators where various groups of individuals are not seen as a homogenous aggregate recipient of the development process but as unique cases where influenced by many variables including age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Women’s level of integration in economic changes, for example, are greatly affected by their position in the family and in the community, how they perceive themselves in relation to others, and, given their constraints and opportunities, how they cope with this economic integration.

As shown in this study of two different communities in Ecuador-- La Calera, an indigenous community and Palmitopamba, a mestizo village, development transformed the lives of the people, particularly women in various ways. Although the signs of economic development are not as apparent in these two areas as in other developed, particularly western cities, there are indications that changes are taking place in these two villages. Elicitation of life histories of six women is used to analyze the integration of women into the development process. Even though the sample size is limited, the women represent diversified realities and different levels of development integration.

Emphasizing differences among these women addresses the issue raised by Third World feminist scholars regarding the misrepresentation of Third World women by the First

World women who consistently characterize women from underdeveloped counties as oppressed, victimized, and in need of support from women from the First World

(Marchand and Parpart 1995; Mohanty 1991). 217

While it is true that many of these women are marginalized, and support from outsiders might help improve their situation, women from Third World countries have agencies that enable them to evaluate their own situations and think of solutions based on their resources, history, and socioeconomic circumstances. Therefore, their conditions should be analyzed using their everyday experiences. Haraway’s (1991) notion of situated knowledge best explains how rural women problems should be situated in their particular localities and daily activities. According to Hawaray, in most cultural settings, women’s perspectives come from their connections to the environment, from their reproductive and productive realms, from their subsistence work, and from the patriarchal nature of their communities.

The life histories of six women in La Calera and Palmitopamba best illustrate this situated knowledge and the fact that development impacts in Ecuador clearly diverge in different directions. When women are integrated into a broader political system, they gain a higher level of authority in the community but also suffer other consequences of political integration. Some women continue to perform the traditional roles assigned to them by the society, thus doubling their work load. Aside from performing the roles of being wives and mothers, the role of being public servant and breadwinner are now added. However, the types of responsibilities given to woman leaders are still closely related to their conventional roles that include health, handicrafts, and educational programs.

This study also shows that there are other types of development where women are integrated in. Because of the worsening condition of the country, some women in these two areas opted to work outside their homes, pursuing other types of jobs such as 218 working as house helpers or as laborers in large plantation, making them part of the larger economy. However, even though they are involved in a market economy through commercial production and working in urban areas, it does not imply that their socioeconomic status has improved. On the contrary, most of these women remain in the low-income group and are constrained with limited resources that brought them to such condition in the first place.

Furthermore, women are not satisfied with the way the government is formulating development programs and how these projects are implemented. Women agree that certain projects have been instigated such as construction of road, bridges, provision of basic services including electricity and water but they still believe that more of these types of program intervention as well as other facilities such as sports facilities should be prioritized for implementation. Women’s interest in small-scale industry that also entails training, illustrates that they want to learn other skills outside their private work that will open new opportunities for them and for the community. Livestock production and provision of small capital are also cited as development projects that should be implemented in rural areas. Involving both men and women in all the development efforts is also emphasized by women, stressing how women prefer their male partners stay in the community rather than to work outside.

Giving priorities to infrastructure and small-scale industries goes to show how women in La Calera and Palimitopamba think of development as a process of growth that does not only include a single individual or group but encompasses the whole community. Although the focus is on constructing tangible progress, deeper analysis of their perception illustrates their wholistic view of development. Women underscore that 219 development should not only improve the physical well being of the community but also necessitates the preservation of family values. This is depicted by their worries of the effects of over exposure by the younger generation to the amenities of the modern world.

Most women, from indigenous community in particular, are afraid that the increasing encroachment of modernization will impinge on the positive traditional practices and values that their community has managed to retain for generations. For some women, this type of transformation is not worth the effort.

Although this study shows that material indicators of wealth are salient for women in these two communities, there are other factors that women think about in planning for the future of their families and communities. For example, as far as indigenous women are concerned, identity should not be jeopardized in exchange for being “developed”. Modernity introduces modern knowledge and technologies and it also changes in people’s value systems and norms. Some indigenous people particularly the youth, imitate what they observe and hear on televisions and radios. This kind of development transformation is very problematic for older women in La Calera because it clashes with their tradition. They are open to some changes such as infrastructure that will help them cope with the globalizing world but they want to maintain and preserve what is left in their culture and they hope that the government will provide support for projects that will enhance their identity. Mestizo women stressed the importance of having public buildings and parks not because they want to be “modern” or highly urbanized but because they want these infrastructures as venues where people can talk and discuss various issues about their community. Women’s definitions of development not only emphasize what is important to prioritize but the process itself is contextualized 220 using their life experiences, stresses the point that development always starts at home

(Merchant 1995).

Development does not only affect the socioeconomic conditions of the people but also impacts the environment in various ways. Biodiversity of foodcrops, for example, is decreasing because of the commercialization of agriculture. In situ genebanks such as homegardens, considered good venues for foodcrop conservation, are now confronted with conditions that have peripherized many traditional crops in the Third World since the beginning of agricultural revolution. In research and development programs, homegarden studies were limited to their structure and lacked analysis of its merit for conserving various crops. Homegardens further face the problem of lack of suitable areas, planting materials, and manual labor because priorities are given to the production of commercial crops. This is clearly illustrated in Palmitopamba where majority of land is appropriated for the production of sugar cane-- the main crop in the area.

In relation to homegarden maintenance, there is an on-going discourse about why women are more zealous in keeping and conserving informal genebanks such as homegardens than men. On one hand, some scholars explain that the relationship between women and the environment can be closely linked to their symbolic meanings, women and the environment are both responsible for reproduction (Sachs 1996, Shiva 1989). The other notion has more to do with the functions of the environment in fulfilling women’s roles in the households and in the community. Food for the family, animal fodder, medicinal plants, and aesthetic values are some functions of the environment that other scholars advocate in explaining the relationship between women and nature (Sachs 1996).

Crop diversity in homegardens also give women more alternatives in dealing with their 221 daily needs because of crop characteristics that include color, flavor, and texture that cater to various needs in the households (Nazarea 1998). This function of homegarden is what most women in mestizo and indigenous communities consider in deciding to maintain homegardens.

However, homegardens vary across ethnic and class groups. Based on the results of this study, women from the indigenous community maintain more diversified homegardens than the mestizo women primarily for economic reasons. Families in La

Calera are relatively poorer than families in Palmitopamba. Women from the former group keep their homegardens highly diversified and composed primarily of foodcrops to augment their daily food needs. In mestizo community, majority of the families are involved in commercial production of sugarcane that takes up the biggest portion of their land. Consequently land for subsistence production is minimized and this affects how women manage their time. It also shapes the manner by which their gardens are maintained. This pattern clearly illustrates that as an area becomes more integrated into the bigger economy, women’s options are restricted. They have to follow what the dominant group is doing not only because of the influence of their neighbors but also because all the land surrounding their farms are already converted into sugarcane plantation, making it difficult for these women to continue cultivating subsistence plots.

By asking women to map their homegardens in three time periods, the changes that took place and will take place in the garden were explored. Women’s own conceptions and attitudes toward the gardens are also better understood using their maps.

The analysis of women’s plant classification system shows that their categorization is not based only on one parameter but a combination of different variables such as physical 222 attributes, functions/uses of plants in the households, and growth habit. This observation supports the notion that the local classification system is affected by both the individuals’ contextual understanding and the property of natural species. For women in both communities and across age groups, foodcrops such as grains and vegetables appear to be the most important category in all the three-time periods. This result can be explained in two ways. On one hand, women perceive their homegardens as connected to their responsibility of providing food, hence maintaining varieties of crops in homegardens offers a sense of food security. The other explanation is closely related to the first; women try to alleviate their economic condition by cultivating crops that can be utilized at home, resulting to less dependency on the market economy. This is further illustrated by the fact that high-income group women did not emphasize foodcrops on their maps because they can afford to buy these types of food. Low-income women, on the other hand, highlighted foodcrops on their maps because they think that these types of plants can save them money or save them from hunger.

Mapping the homegardens as a technique also reveal important issues that are sometimes ignored in identifying development projects suited for rural regions. Although both the researcher’s maps and women’s maps depict the same geographical space, women’s homegarden maps show features that emphasize what they value in their gardens, including crops they find useful in the households. The researcher’s homegarden maps can be very objective, can be accurate in terms of the number of plants and their varieties, land area, and distribution of crops but they do not represent other important features that women highlighted on their maps. Giving importance to local people’s perception of their environment is crucial in identifying the kind of intervention program 223 that development workers will implement. Women want to continue maintaining homegardens mainly for home consumption. Factors that women have no control over, including limited area, lack of manual labor, and the worsening economic condition, force them to sometimes neglect their homegardens. Understanding first what these women prefer to have or maintain on their gardens will not only help in food security but will also prevent the further erosion of biodiversity.

Recognizing the importance of informal genebanks such as homegardens and women’s crucial role in its maintenance will make biodiversity conservation more sustainable in the long run. Women’s close involvement with plants and its production make women more knowledgeable about environmental problems. For example, through their long-term interaction with nature, women learned which plants are best to mix with other plants or which ones are best to cultivate in certain months. Hence, this information will also be conserved if homegardens continue to be maintained.

In the midst of various limitations of development interventions presented to them, women from these two areas manage to maximize the available resources and make the most of existing social systems in their communities. Through their informal networks, women support either their kins or non-relatives in achieving some goals or in accomplishing certain jobs that would have been difficult to accomplish on their own. For example, financial, emotional, and social support are being provided by social networks that include immediate families, relatives, friends, neighbors, and local leaders and organizations. Their connection with other women seems to be one of the most important social network because they provide the socioeconomic assistance in times of need.

Caring for children, assisting in the farm, and trading house and agricultural goods are 224 examples of support that these women give to one another. This behavior emphasizes that majority of women in these communities do not rely entirely on government or any external agencies to improve their lives but rely on themselves and one another in trying to accomplish the personal goals that they set.

Understanding women ‘s decision-making process entails examining how they see themselves as part of the households and how they manage their time and resources.

The activities of women of different ethnic and economic groups show that women spend majority of their time in food preparation and in recreational activities. Food is a major part of Ecuadorian life. According to Weismantel (1988:9) “food plays such an important part in the symbols and rituals that establish social relation within a group.” Hence, its preparation is important because “the act of cooking stands at the juncture between the conceptual and the material bases of social life” (Weismantel 1988:23). It is for this reason that women appear to spend more time in preparing their meals than in any other activity.

However, women are also constrained by the availability of resources that affect their ability to decide on certain issues at homes and in the community. For instance, indigenous women who are poorer than women from the mestizo area mainly depend on subsistence production for their livelihood while mestizo women are very much part of commercial economy. Indigenous women, on the other hand, perform daily activities at their own pace because market influence on their daily tasks is minimal while mestizo women are confined to perform market-oriented activities. Low-income families tend to have more diversified gardens than high-income groups since the latter allocate most of their time performing activities related to income generation. 225

In the same manner, when time distribution of various activities was analyzed among three economic groups, variations in time allocation were very prominent. For example, the low-income group appears to spend the greatest number of minutes engaging in wage labor while middle-income group spends more time in petty business.

High-income group equally distributed their time on each activity except for non- agricultural activity where they engage in other income-generating task. Understandably, both middle and low-income families have to allocate more time on activities that will provide additional income to the family. The high-income group, on the other hand, does not have to spend much time on a single income-generating activity since they have other resources that allow them to distribute their time over various activities. Hiring house helpers and farm laborers, for example, frees them from household chores.

Multi-tasking is common among women in the two communities. In other words, women generally engage in an activity while simultaneously performing other tasks.

While cooking, for instance, a woman also sweeps the floor and/or washes the dishes.

When their husbands and sons start migrating to urban regions seeking other jobs, this situation worsens because farm responsibilities are transferred to women along with the other tasks that they already perform inside the house. Consequently, activities that usually involve women such as tending homegardens are neglected because more time is needed to attend to the farm. Because of lack of time and manual labor, this situation eventually decreases the number and varieties of plants cultivated in the homegardens and the land area allocated for subsistence production. Moreover, because of the condition of the country’s economy, women from both communities and across economic 226 groups sacrifice activities related to homegardens to allocate more time to tasks that will augment family’s income.

Women in La Calera and Palmitopamba are aware of how power is distributed in the households. Majority of them recognize the value of both genders in the family.

Unlike women in the western society who assert their power by negating their male counterparts, women in these two villages reassert theirs by constructing a gender complementarity where both gender and their respective roles are valued. When the economy changes, however some of these roles also change, making some women perform other roles beyond the traditionally prescribed ones. In Palmitopamba, for example, both males and females work in sugarcane plantation. This challenges the idea that only men can perform tough jobs and the notion that women should only work at home. However, in some cases, high- and low-income women are more constrained by their condition in as far as shifting their roles in the households. High-income women are afraid to go beyond the society’s norms or the dominant cultural model and so they stick to their prescribed reproductive and productive tasks. Low-income women, on the other hand, are so limited in their economic realm that getting involved into other activities that pursuing any additional preoccupation is not even an option.

Notably, those who belong to the middle-income group are more capable of juggling constraints and maneuvering within their restricted place. Women of this group show more confidence in letting their voices be heard at home and in the community.

Their activities might be more bounded since they always have to allocate more time in income-generating tasks but their negotiating power is more prominent than the other two economic groups. These middle status women can be identified with people at the border 227 because their position and identities are continually being subject to change and redefinition. The position of being between the dominant and the totally neglected groups enable the bordered women to simultaneously consider that space as a barrier and an opportunity (Wilson and Donnan 1998). Sometimes they are deprived of the opportunity to perform other activities because they have to spend more time balancing their reproductive and productive responsibilities but that condition also gives them latitude to be more open to possibilities and speak out about their ideas.

Recommendations for Development

Development as an approach to emancipate human condition has been changing and continues to be a fluid concept since its initiation. Scholars from various disciplines, particularly those coming from the South, are now joining the debate and beginning to question its effect. For example, the implementation of development strategies is criticized mainly because of its unequal impact in the Global North and Global South and its negative effects to the environment. This contestation goes beyond the dichotomy of

First and Third World counties and begins to include discrepancy of the development impact to people of various ethnic, class, and gender background. As a consequence, alternative development advocates call for new approach where greater participation of development partners is encouraged (Moser 1993, Marchant and Parpart 1998). Women scholars in particular, begin to incorporate their ideas regarding development and how it should be addressed to eliminate its gender-blind strategies. In this section, using my two research sites as examples, I also raise some issues and give some recommendations on 228 how development in Ecuador should be tackled particularly in regard to the role of women on its success.

First, economic development should address the issue of scale. Usually, the strategy only targets large political units such as a country or a region of the country.

There are cases where smaller units such as the household should also be included in its formulation and implementation. Mayer (2002: 321) points out that people are “ actively involved in running a complex household/interhousehold economy; they produce; build houses, trade, tax themselves, and redistribute income between themselves”. In other words, the household as a unit is capable of improving itself and this should be enhanced through the support programs from the government that will underscore these capabilities. In doing so, households, particularly in rural areas of the Third World, will not be viewed as “hopeless apathetic beings” that most economic approaches try to convey (Mayer 2002:321).

Focusing on gender, development programs addressing issues of women formulated with the objective of extending their conventional roles are needed to be reassessed and reevaluated. This is not to downplay the importance of incorporating all traditional activities and programs of women in the development agenda, in fact, some of them have to be prioritized. The problem lies in the way women public works are perceived as extension of their house work and how responsibilities are distributed across gender. Women’s job and abilities to govern in public office should be viewed not just as expansion of household roles but should be based on their leadership capabilities.

Another issue of concern is how development projects tried to increase economic activities that target mostly men because planners assumed that the household heads are 229 always the males. Development projects have a better chance if they are done with a greater degree of gender neutrality in the policy design (Kabeer 1994). This means that programs should be formulated with no preconceived plan that certain projects should only be implemented by and for a specific gender. As long as certain individuals or groups of individuals are capable of planning and implementing a program, they should be allowed to do so regardless of their gender. Projects and programs formulated by women leaders should be prioritized because a majority of them are geared toward the welfare of members of the households and the community (e.g., improvement of health, construction of communal house). The success of these projects will all depend on the government since the available resources in rural areas are limited.

Aside from the double and sometimes triple work burden, women leaders also suffer from indifference showed by the people from their respective communities. Men, in particular, feel threatened when women hold higher position and thus, command higher authority than them. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to highlight in their campaign the value of woman leaders in the implementation of various projects that generally target the improvement of the quality of life of the people.

Women’s situation is worsened by Ecuador’s declining economy which forces men to work outside their communities, leaving their women to cope with the responsibilities of the farm and households. While attraction to the urban centers is unavoidable because of its “false” representation in media, projects targeting rural areas should focus on providing jobs for men and women that eventually may prevent men from migrating to other areas. In this manner, women will not be left attending household and agricultural responsibilities. 230

Because of variations of circumstances that are experienced by women in

Ecuador, it is imperative that their problems should not be approached with homogenous solution. Various concepts that encompass women such as reproduction, gender roles or sexual division of labor, and family should not always be in the context of subordination.

Hence, any studies or analysis of women with respect to their reproductive or productive responsibilities, gender division of labor, time allocation, and their relationships and networks should be grounded on their contextual perspectives. Similarly, any development project or program addressing pertinent issues should not only be identified by the dominant group but should also involve negotiation at various levels of the marginalized population.

The notion of power should also be understood in the context of resistance.

Women in Palmitopamba and La Calera do not deny that their situation is not the best condition possible but they always make the most of the limited resources that they have.

In the same way that homegardens should be viewed as an integral part of the biodiversity conservation effort, women’s work should similarly be analyzed and valorized from different angles. Household work including child caring and subsistence production, among others, should be given different meanings and values that will appreciate women who decide not to be “equal” with their male counterparts in terms of having the same power in the community, or their women counterparts in the First World countries who consider empowerment as having the ability to work outside their homes.

Some women in these two villages simply prefer to stay at home, to be mothers to their children and wives to their husbands. This should be recognized as an option that women have and should not be devalued in the overall development of the country. After all, 231 these women have managed to change disadvantaged positions into something that enable them to pursue both personal and communal goals even with limited resources.

As Sachs (1996:25) pointed out:

Rather than seeing women as helpless victims of an all-powerful, patriarchal ideology, we must account for women’s potential for creativity and agency within a context of limited options. Social structures not only constrain, they also enable; thus social structures serve not simply as barriers to action but also as preconditions for the possibility of meaningful choices. REFERENCES

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RESEARCHER’S HOMEGARDEN MAPS 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 APPENDIX B

WOMEN’S HOMEGARDEN MAPS 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 APPENDIX C

COMPLETE LIST OF PLANTS CULTIVATED IN HOMEGARDENS 303 Table 3. Complete list of plants cultivated in homegardens in La Calera and Palmitopamba1

Palmitopamba La Calera Local Name Scientific Name Local Name Scientific Name Aji Capsicum anuum Aguacate Persea Americana Albahaca Ocimum basilicum Aji Capsicum anuum Bongavilla Bougainvilliea Azella Rhododendron indium Café Coffea arabiga Azucena Lilium candidum Camote Ipomea batatas Cactus Opuntia sp. Estrella de Euphorbia pulcheerima Caña de azucar Saccharum officinarum panama Girasol Helianthus annuus Cebolla Allium cepa Guava Inga edulis Cedron Lippia Citriodora Hierba luisa Mentha sativa Chirimoya Pssiflora caerulea Lemon Cirtus aurantium Cipres Cupressus semperinens Maracuya Passiflora edulis Clavel Eugenia caryophylla Menta Mentha piperita Coco Cocos nucifera Naranja Citrus sirensis Col Brassica oleracea Oregano Origanum valgana Cilantro Coriandrum sativum Ortiga Crisantemo Chrysanthemum hortorum Palmera Phoenix dactylifera Frejol Phaseolus valgaris Papaya Carica payrus Girasol Helianthus annus Papa China Xantosoma sp. Gladiolo Paspalum bonplandianum Piña Ananas comosus Guava Inga edulis Pitahaya Cereus icovigonus Hierba luisa Mentha sativa Platano Musa paradisiacal Higo Ficus carica Romero Rosmarinus offcinalis Lechero Euphoria uriforia Rosal Rosa rosaceae Lechugas Lactuca sativa Sabila Aloe socotrina Maiz Zea mays Tomate de arbol Cyphomandra betacea Manzanilla Athemis-Nobilis Yuca Manihot esculenta Marco Marco yura Menta Mentha piperita Naranja Citrus sirensis Naranjilla Solanum quitoense Oregano Origanum valgana

1 Plants included are from the informants’ homegardens only; plants from other homegardens are not included. 304 Papa Solanum Tuberosum Pasto Cynodon dactylon Platano Musa paradisiacal Tocte Juglans neotropica Tomate de arbol Cyphomandra betacea Uña de gato Uncuria guanensis Uva Vitis vinifera Zanahoria Daucus carota Zapallo