The Role of an Agriculture Association in the Wellbeing of Women Farmers in Southern Chile
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The Role of an Agriculture Association in the Wellbeing of Women Farmers in Southern Chile By Rhonda Klevansky Department of Graduate Liberal Studies Duke University A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In the Graduate Liberal Studies Program In the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 ©Rhonda Klevansky 2014 Final Project for MA Liberal Studies, Duke University Page 0 Abstract This case study based paper throws light on the role played by a Chilean agriculture association in the wellbeing of its women members. It takes a documentary approach and is based on comparative research and first person interviews. It looks at the many benefits of associating, but also carefully considers the difficulties faced by these women smallholder farmers. It concludes with institutional and legislative changes, and recommendations for improving the efficacy of the agriculture association. A women’s regional agriculture association, the Asociación Gremial de Mujeres Campesinas, was established in 2005 by the graduates of an ongoing government development initiative. While the INDAP – PRODEMU asset transfer and skills training program gives the women tools to establish small farming enterprises, and the association provides them a forum and a network, their potential success is held back by institutional and cultural barriers. Chile’s marriage laws, lack of land tenure and widespread domestic violence impose significant limitations on the wellbeing of the women and in turn the scope of the agriculture association. ©Rhonda Klevansky 2014 Final Project for MA Liberal Studies, Duke University Page 1 Acknowledgements With many thanks to the following: Donna Zapf, the Director of Liberal Studies who encouraged me to take on this interdisciplinary study, my advisor Rosemary Fernholz of the Sanford School of Public Policy who kept me on track; and Kent Wicker who improved my writing. I could not have written this paper without the assistance of Isabel Reyes of Indap, Coyhaique, Anahí Huechán of the Aysen Regional Committee of Rural Women, Osvaldo Gallardo, Prodesal, Claudio Riquelme and Jorge Montecinos, Department of Health, Coyhaique. Neither could I have written it without the personal information entrusted to me by Edith Foitzick, Pamela Vega, Norma Quijada, Noelia Retamal and Marcia Catalan. A special thanks to Neil Prose who proof read the document multiple times. ©Rhonda Klevansky 2014 Final Project for MA Liberal Studies, Duke University Page 2 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations: ............................................................................................................. 7 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 8 Institutions and development: .............................................................................. 10 Women in the farming areas of Patagonia: .......................................................... 12 Factors of wellbeing: .............................................................................................. 13 Study framework: ................................................................................................... 14 Case Studies: .......................................................................................................... 14 2. The Aysen Women’s Agriculture Guild ............................................................................ 19 Cooperatives versus Guilds in Southern Chile ...................................................... 21 Increasing Human Capital ...................................................................................... 22 Overcoming distrust ............................................................................................... 23 Maximizing Social Capital – Strengthening Communities .................................... 24 Making a case for gender specific women’s farming associations ...................... 25 3. Gender Gap and the Demographics of Agriculture in Chile ............................................... 30 Resources: .............................................................................................................. 30 Gendered space: .................................................................................................... 33 Invisibility: ............................................................................................................... 34 Urban Migration of women: .................................................................................. 35 Influence of Education: .......................................................................................... 39 Gender, Marriage and Health insurance: ............................................................. 42 The Vicious Cycle of the Continued Rural Masculine Space: ............................... 42 4. Land Tenure, Lack Thereof and its Effect on Women Farmers .......................................... 44 Property Administration and Chile’s Marital Regime ........................................... 44 ©Rhonda Klevansky 2014 Final Project for MA Liberal Studies, Duke University Page 3 Marriage, land tenure and local custom ............................................................... 46 History of Property Ownership in Chile ................................................................ 47 Land Ownership, power and credit in other parts of Latin America ................... 48 Land tenure and Patriarchal Institutions in Chile ................................................. 49 Grants, subsidies and land ownership .................................................................. 52 5. Benefits of Guild membership ......................................................................................... 54 Economic benefits: Grants, Subsidies and Credit ................................................. 55 “You always get more things as a group” Norma Quijada ................................... 58 Community Participation, Social interaction and Wellbeing ............................... 60 Education: ............................................................................................................... 62 Empowerment: Advocacy and Negotiating institutional regulations ................. 64 6. Domestic Violence and other Obstacles to Joining the A.G .............................................. 67 Clipped Wings and Household Responsibilities .................................................... 67 Domestic Violence ................................................................................................. 69 Sexual Abuse .......................................................................................................... 72 The Women’s Agriculture Guild and Remediation ............................................... 73 7. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 76 Strengths of the Guild: ........................................................................................... 76 Limitations of the Guild: ........................................................................................ 78 Building on the strengths of the guild: .................................................................. 78 Legislative and Institutional changes needed:...................................................... 80 To Conclude: ........................................................................................................... 81 Works Cited......................................................................................................................... 99 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 103 ©Rhonda Klevansky 2014 Final Project for MA Liberal Studies, Duke University Page 4 Interview Transcriptions .................................................................................................... 109 Edith Foitzick Interview. ...................................................................................... 109 Marcia Catalan interview ..................................................................................... 129 Interview with Noelia Retamal ............................................................................ 144 Norma Quijada Interview. ................................................................................... 161 Pamela Vega Interview ........................................................................................ 180 Edith with Rupert, her hand-reared steer ©Rhonda Klevansky 2014 Final Project for MA Liberal Studies, Duke University Page 5 List of Annexes and Boxes: i. Stakeholders: a review of the state institutions, civil society groups and other actors who have contributed to the formation of the Asociación Gremial De Mujeres Productoras Campesinas De La Patagonia Aysen and who are instrumental in its continued operation (p81) ii. Stakeholder Influences on Guild and Women Farmers (p87) iii. Women’s Agriculture Guild: Support Structure (p88) iv. Fact Sheet: General information about Chile and the Aysen Region (p89) v. The history of settlement in the Aysen region (p91) vi. Interview Questions (p96) vii. Consent form (p97) viii. Interview transcriptions translated into English (p105) Box 1. Personal connection to the subject matter (p9) Box2. Gender politics of Chile (p11) Box3. Demographics of the Aysen Region