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Domestication of Khamu Women Through Domesticated Trees?

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Domestication of Khamu Women Through Domesticated Trees? Domestication of Khamu women through domesticated trees? The impacts of development interventions in Lao PDR DIPLOMARBEIT Zur Erlangung des Magistergrades der Philosophie am Institut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie der Universität Wien Eingereicht von Kathrin Leitner Wien, Oktober 2007 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienbuchblatt: A307 Studienrichtung lt. Studienbuchblatt: Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie Matrikelnummer: a0204729 Betreuer: Dr. Helmut Lukas Univ.-Doz. Mitbetreuerin Dr. Ika Darnhofer, Priv.Doz. (BOKU Wien) DANKSAGUNG Hiermit möchte ich mich bei allen herzlich bedanken die mich auf dem Weg zum erfolgreichen Abschluss dieser Arbeit unterstützt haben. Am meisten danke ich all jenen aus Mang die mir ihre Geduld und Zeit zur Verfügung gestellt haben. Ein ebenso großer Dank an Sivilay Phonesavanh und Somsamouth Phongsavath für ihre geduldige und professionelle Unterstützung während meiner Zeit in Laos. Das gilt auch für das gesamte CIAT-BOKU Team, das meinen Aufenthalt dort ermöglicht hat. Besonders bedanke ich mich bei Dr. Ika Darnhofer für ihre intensive Unterstützung, vor allem deinen raschen Antworten, während der Vorbereitungszeit in Wien. Einen speziell großen Dank an Prof.Dr. Helmut Lukas für die gesamte Betreuung und die richtungsweisenden Inspirationen. Dir liebe Kendra dank ich für die schöne Zeit und all die Gespräche in Laos. Liebe Mo, danke das du es auch in den verzweifelsten Momenten geschafft hast mich zum Lachen zu bringen. Und dir lieber Markus dank ich dass du immer für mich da warst. Ganz herzlich bedank ich mich bei meiner Familie für die liebevolle Begleitung während der gesamten Studienzeit. Abstract This study tries to shed light on the impacts of development intervention with respect to both the economic position of Khamu women and their local environment. The primary focus of the study is the effect of the commercialisation of wild and domesticated paper mulberry in Mang Village (northern Lao PDR). A secondary focus is how the development strategies including the commercialisation of paper mulberry are contributing to the destruction of the tropical rainforest. The overall cause for tropical rainforest destruction is misdirected development strategies that emphasize export-led growth. These strategies contribute also to a widening gap between the rich and ‘poor’. It will be shown in detail that the tropical rainforest is decreasing in Mang village, due to (1) the forced transformation from subsistence to market oriented agriculture and (2) the population growth in the village caused by relocation programs. The same two reasons also enhance a class formation in the village, which shapes Khamu women’s economic position in society. Their situation regarding the increased commercialisation of both wild, and domesticated paper mulberry is influenced by class through: (1) the access to related recourses which can reflect (2) the quality of paper mulberry bark, (3) the importance criteria of paper mulberry as a cash crop to contribute to their livelihood, and (4) the intra-household division of labour between women and men. This study is embedded in a broader framework which tries to link conflicts about scarce resources with development interventions. Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................... 1 1.1. Research Context and Issue ............................................................................................ 1 1.2. Research Objectives......................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2 Development.................................................... 7 2.1. Behind Poverty ................................................................................................................. 7 2.2. Behind Environmental Sustainability .......................................................................... 11 2.3. Development and Anthropology................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3 Women and Oikos ......................................... 25 3.1. Foraging.......................................................................................................................... 25 3.2. Horticulture.................................................................................................................... 29 3.3. Intensive Agriculture ..................................................................................................... 32 3.4. Domestication and Money ............................................................................................ 37 Chapter 4 Cultural Ecology & “Identerest Conflict”..... 43 4.1. Culture and environment: schools of thought.............................................................. 43 4.2. “Identerest conflict” of Development in Southeast Asia ............................................ 50 Chapter 5 Lao PDR ........................................................ 56 5.1. History and Ethnicity .................................................................................................... 56 5.2. Lao PDR - Development ............................................................................................... 65 5.3. Policy regulations and responses.................................................................................. 69 Chapter 6 Khamu............................................................ 74 6.1. Identification .................................................................................................................. 74 6.2. Relationship with other ethnic groups ......................................................................... 77 6.3. Economy......................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 7 Study .............................................................. 87 7.1. Framework for the study................................................................................................ 87 7.2. Method............................................................................................................................ 92 7.3. Limitations and Reflexion........................................................................................... 102 7.4. Results........................................................................................................................... 105 Chapter 8 Appendix & References................................125 8.1. Appendix....................................................................................................................... 125 8.2. References .................................................................................................................... 132 Chapter 1 Introduction With this introduction it is shown how central questions and objectives of this study emerged. Different aspects are considered, which allow both, a view on the development from paper mulberry as a non timber forest product (NTFP) to a cash crop product, and some of the possible implications of this transformation on the environment and local society. 1.1. Research Context and Issue There is a long-running debate among physical and social scientist on the ability of the planet to sustain industrial and population growth. The debate is on the future. The two sides of the debate have very different concepts of what is sustainable and what is desirable. The technological worldview, with its support of elites and the status quo, currently dominates society. This worldview fosters continued infrastructural intensification in the belief that technology will find a way to tap into infinite resources for human consumption, “that technology will find a way to clean up the mess” (Ewell 1991:57). Following Ewell, technologists tend to rhapsodize over innovations, pointing out not only their efficiency but also their positive impact on human dignity (often defined as freedom from labour), popular power, and freedom. Ecologists, on the other hand, tend to regard these same innovations as restricting human freedom, placing more power into the hands of the already powerful. Rooted in their system view, there is the belief that technology cannot be employed without creating further social inequalities. Ecologists question not only whether man can continue to exploit nature for profit but also whether he should continue to do so (Ewell 1991:56). It “took millions of years for hunters and gatherers to deplete their environment. It took thousands of years for agricultural society to do the same. After only 100 years of intensive industrialism, however, the world is rapidly running out of many non-renewable resources” (Ewell 1991:61). One of the most serious ecological problems of the world in recent decades has been the disappearance of tropical rain forests. The destruction of rain forest has reached levels that can only be described as catastrophic. Rain forests cover about 16 % of the earth’s surface. They are enormously diverse and rich in life; they are home to perhaps 50 % of all species. The loss of rain forest is not limited to species, however, but to entire ecosystems, which are very difficult, if not impossible to reconstitute (Sutton and Anderson 2004:297). At the same time there is now recognition that there exists a mutually dependent relationship between biological diversity and cultural diversity, between habitats and cultures between ecosystems and cultural identity. This relationship is a determining factor in ensuring sustainable
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