Color Green for Dollars: Constraints and limitations for establishing Chamaedorea palm firms in Veracruz, Mexico Nasim Musálem Castillejos May 2014 Color Green for Dollars: Constraints and limitations for establishing Chamaedorea palm firms in Veracruz, Mexico Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................................ vii Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1 Introducing Chamaedorea: 15 reflexions of a NTFP ....................................................... 1 1. My name is Camedor ........................................................................................... 1 2. I go green ............................................................................................................. 2 3. I am fashionable ................................................................................................... 3 4. I travel frequently ................................................................................................. 3 5. I have many friends .............................................................................................. 4 6. I have an extraordinary life-history ....................................................................... 6 7. I help protect forests ............................................................................................. 7 8. I benefit from subsidies and government support .................................................. 8 9. I am part of a large family .................................................................................... 8 10. I love tradition .................................................................................................... 9 11. I am difficult to reproduce ................................................................................ 10 12. I serve the people of my country ...................................................................... 10 13. I am difficult to understand .............................................................................. 11 14. I am not the superstar ....................................................................................... 11 15. I play an important role in this thesis ................................................................ 11 16. Thesis outline ................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................... 15 Research problem, theoretical and methodological choices ......................................... 15 1. Research Problem .............................................................................................. 15 2. Institutional context and forestry policy .............................................................. 17 3. Theoretical framework: opting for an actor-oriented approach ........................... 19 4. Methodology ...................................................................................................... 23 5. Research Area .................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................... 35 Road to Success: La Flor de Catemaco ......................................................................... 35 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 35 2. My first visit to the company .............................................................................. 36 3. Key actors and beginning of La Flor de Catemaco .............................................. 37 4. Practices in the company’s operations ................................................................ 41 5. Mexican Official Standards ................................................................................ 48 6. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................................... 51 Small-scale Producers: Organization for production and commercialization ............... 51 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 51 2. Tropical environment and production diversity .................................................. 52 3. Practices and strategies for production ............................................................... 53 4. Commercialization organization: broadening market opportunities .................... 61 5. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 5 ..................................................................................................................... 67 Policy and Community Initiatives “in the Making” ....................................................... 67 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 67 2. Constructing the Organization ........................................................................... 69 3. Origin and expansion of the idea ....................................................................... 69 4. Planning of Activities ......................................................................................... 72 5. Putting the CBNRM Initiative into Practice ......................................................... 74 6. Demise .............................................................................................................. 75 7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 6 ..................................................................................................................... 79 Intermediaries: Limitations and bottlenecks for market consolidation ......................... 79 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 79 2. Intermediaries and their role in the value chain .................................................. 80 3. The case study of Maldonado Produce ............................................................... 81 4. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 7 ..................................................................................................................... 91 Research and practice: Building and promoting a body of knowledge for Chamaedorea use and production ....................................................................................................... 91 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 91 2. Context and main actor ...................................................................................... 92 3. Articulation of projects with adjacent communities ............................................ 97 4. Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 103 Chapter 8 ................................................................................................................... 107 Conclusions and discussion ........................................................................................ 107 1. Main findings ................................................................................................... 107 2. Organization, entrepreneurship and policy outcomes ...................................... 112 3. Usefulness of the actor-oriented approach for studying organizational processes ........................................................................................................................ 115 Glossary of scientific and common names .................................................................. 117 References .................................................................................................................. 121 Appendix 1. Chronology of activities during field work ............................................. 131 Appendix 2. NOM-006-RECNAT-1997 ....................................................................... 133 Appendix 3. Chamaedorea palm species considered in NOM-059-ECOL-2001 ......... 139 Summary .................................................................................................................... 141 List of Tables Table 1. Chamaedorea palm production: Planted area, harvested area and value of production in the State of Veracruz, 2004–2012. ............................................... 7 Table 2. Main crops, planted area, volume and value of production in the municipality of Tezonapa, Veracruz (2009). ............................................................................. 31 Table 3. Chamaedorea palm species considered in NOM-059-ECOL-2001 .................... 139 Lists of Figures Figure 1. Chamaedorea fronds used in flower arrangements at a supermarket in Wageningen, The Netherlands. .......................................................................... 5 Figure 2. Chamaedorea