z.umn.edu/MURAJ Chambira in a Changing Landscape By Sydney Larson Abstract Amazonian peoples have traditionally relied on natural resources for their livelihoods. Within this context, Astrocaryum chambira is an important palm species. However, modernization and development of the Amazon have led to changes in community social relations, traditional livelihoods and use of natural resources. Few studies have analyzed the present dynamics of chambira use in areas of transition. To study shifts in the use of the chambira palm, I reviewed the literature on traditional uses, conducted semi-structured interviews, and made field observations at two sites in the Peruvian Amazon: Sucusari, a native Maijuna community and rural villages La Habana, Doce de Abril and Cahuide along the Iquitos-Nauta road. The goal of this study was to investigate how modernization and infrastructure development of the Amazon are influencing the use of chambira. I found that Amazonian peoples still use the chambira palm, but current use does not mirror traditional use. The expansion of markets and the availability of cheap goods has led to the replacement of certain products previously made with chambira. In some areas, growing tourism in the Amazon has increased demand for chambira handicrafts. Native communities seem to have maintained a sophisticated knowledge of chambira and preserved its cultural significance, while in more urbanized areas knowledge and value are being lost. In modern society, use and importance of the chambira palm are decreasing, but in traditional communities of the Peruvian Amazon it remains a highly utilized resource. Introduction around 8 m in length (García 2015). The trunk of Palms are one of the most important the palm is covered in black spines of up to 20 m in plant groups in the Amazon because they provide length (Coomes 2004). The fruits are green turning food, fiber, building materials, fuel, and yellow at maturity and grow in large clusters. On medicine. They have been especially vital for the average, fruits are six to seven cm long and four to livelihoods of indigenous communities of the five cm wide (Mejía 2000). The species is especially Amazon. The use of Astrocaryum chambira, the common in secondary growth forests that have chambira palm, by indigenous communities of undergone a disturbance event. Its distribution is the Amazon is well documented. A. chambira is a restricted to the Amazon Basin, specifically solitary canopy palm up to 30 m tall and between northern Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia 19 and 40 cm in diameter (Jensen & Balslev 1995, (Henderson et al. 1995). Henderson et al. 1995). It has a funnel-shaped The chambira palm is known for several crown with generally eight to 20 leaves around useful components including its edible fruit and 1 interplay between plants and bees, each helping the other. Development of prairieland for agricultural use affects indigenous bee communities, which have historically inhabited prairie regions. Adverse strong, flexible fiber (Jensen & Balslev 1995, asking these questions was to develop a Vormisto 2002). The fibers obtained from its leaf narrative surrounding the relationship of spear, known as the cogollo, have been traditionally Amazonian peoples with chambira and identify used to make a wide variety of products including factors driving use and management patterns in hammocks, bags, and fishing nets (Jensen & Balslev each community. I expected that various factors 1995, Vormisto 2002, Coomes 2004). Handicrafts are influencing the utilization of chambira in like baskets, bracelets, and animal figurines were each of these locations. This research comes at a also woven from the chambira fiber. A more recent time when the effects of modernization of the study done in the upper Tahuayo River Basin, Peru, region are not well understood. Change is documents local concern over the destructive happening quicker than effects can be studied. harvest of the chambira palm and loss of the To present my results, I first detail resource over time, but the species is not traditional uses of chambira, citing literature on the categorized as endangered. That study found that topic. I then discuss the changing landscape of the more tourists coming to the area provided Peruvian Amazon, mentioning factors at each site economic incentive to harvest an increasing that may have contributed to people's relationship amount of chambira, which called for new or lack of with chambira. The section on current dedication to chambira management (Guel & Penn uses of chambira contains the main body of 2015). information collected in the field. I present Non-timber forest products including narratives that provide a rich description of the chambira are beginning to serve as more prominent current knowledge, use, and management of sources of income for native communities (e.g chambira. I conclude with thoughts on how the Gilmore 2010). In this study, I investigated how the chambira palm will likely be used in the Amazon in changing landscape of the Peruvian Amazon is the future, informed by responses of interviewees. influencing the use and perceived importance of chambira. I reviewed literature on the chambira Study Area palm and documented the current use of the The Amazon rainforest covers most of chambira palm at two sites through semi-structured northwestern Brazil and extends into Colombia, interviews and field observations. I surveyed two Peru, and other small parts of South American populations archetypical of the Peruvian Amazon: countries. The population of the Amazon basin is Sucusari, a native Maijuna community and roadside around 30 million people ; with around 4 million villages on the Iquitos-Nauta road. self-recognized indigenous peoples and several These populations are arechtyical because they million more with indigenous heritage (Gilmore represent the two dominant lifestyles in the 2010). I conducted research for within the Peruvian Peruvian Amazon. In the interviews, I asked Amazon. The primary languages of this region are questions about current knowledge and use of Spanish and Portuguese, but around 400 native chambira to get ideas about the importance of languages are still spoken. chambira and changes in its use relative to existing This study focused on two sites in the literature. My goal in MURAJ • z.umn.edu/MURAJ 2 northeastern Peruvian Amazon Department of hectare Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Loreto. The first site is a group of rural villages Area (RCA) established in 2014, which protects between km 54 and km 57 of the Iquitos-Nauta part of the ancestral territory of the Maijuna. I road, including La Habana, 12 de Abril, and chose Sucusari as a study site because it is Cahuide, which were established in the 1980s. This representative of native populations throughout 110-km asphalt road connects Iquitos and Nauta, the Amazon. the two largest urban centers in the Department of Loreto. Construction of the road was completed in 2005. The roadside is lined with the permanent homes of rural settlers and lodges and recreation centers constructed by urban migrants. Along the road, people primarily identify as mestizo, descendants of indigenous and Spanish union. Some of these people have retained the traditions that reflect their indigenous heritage, but many have not. This small stretch of the road is representative of the entire road since it includes a population affected by modernization through a Figure 1. Study area. Sites: Sucusari, Iquitos-Nauta Road. direct connection to the only major cities of the Villages: Sucusari, La Habana, Doce de Abril, Cahuide. region. Department of Loreto, Peru. The other site in Loreto is Sucusari, which is one of four Maijuna communities in Peru. The Methods Maijuna are one of Peru's ethnic groups. Sucusari is I conducted semi-structured interviews situated along the Napo River, a few hours by boat and field observations to document the current use from Iquitos. Sucusari was founded in 1978 and of A. chambira at two sites in the northeastern today is a community of about 34 families. The Peruvian Amazon Department of Loreto. Sites community consists of raised thatch-roof houses, surveyed included villages along a stretch of the communal meeting spaces, a kindergarten and Iquitos-Nauta road and Sucusari, a native Maijuna elementary school, a soccer field, and a cultural community. These populations are considered history museum built by an NGO, Nature and archetypical of the region. I used the same research Culture International (NCI). The central area is techniques with populations at both sites. bordered by the Sucusari River and surrounded by I collected data in the field during daytime hours. chacras, small agricultural plots managed by I conducted four formal interviews along the individuals or families. All community members road and seven formal interviews in Sucusari. interviewed reported having naturally growing Before each formal interview, I read participants chambira in their chacras with varying abundance. an oral consent form (Appendix A). I only The community lies just outside of the 4,470- recruited MURAJ • z.umn.edu/MURAJ 3 adults over the age of 18 to formally participate in I conducted this research under thesupervision the study, but in addition to the formal interviews I of The School for Field Studies (SFS), an spoke informally with youth at both sites. I recorded environmental study abroad program for college each interview using the voice memos application of undergraduate students. I completed the study as part iPhone model A1453. I conducted all interviews in of the directed research course SFS 4910. For the Spanish and asked questions about knowledge and duration of the study, I lived in the Center for Amazon use of the chambira palm (Appendix B). In the Studies, south of Iquitos. The study received the narratives that follow names have been changed to necessary Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. protect the identity of the participants. When conducting research along the road, I was based out Traditional Uses of the Chambria Palm of the Center for Amazon Studies (CAS) located The chambira palm is one of many natural within walking distance of the study site.