THE USE AND POTENTIAL OF THE PITA PLANT, AECHMEA MAGDALENAE (ANDRÉ) ANDRÉ EX. BAKER, IN A NGÖBE VILLAGE: A CASE STUDY OF CHALITE, BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA. by KATHRYN M. LINCOLN submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN FORESTRY MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2004 The thesis “The Use and Potential of the pita plant, Aechmea magdalenae (André) André ex. Baker, in a Ngöbe Village: A Case Study of Chalite, Bocas del Toro, Panama.” is hereby approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN FORESTRY. School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Signatures: Advisor: __________________________________________ Blair D. Orr Dean: ____________________________________________ Margaret R. Gale Date: ____________________________________________ ii PREFACE This study was conducted between May 2002 and August 2004, during my service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chalite, Ño-Kribo, Ngöbe-Buglé Comarca, Panama. Prior to my Peace Corps service I worked in a variety of natural resource positions including work with the National Park Service at Isle Royale National Park and owning my own landscape design company in Wichita, Kansas. My interest in people’s role in natural resources began with my undergraduate study at the University of Nebraska, where I completed a major in Horticulture with a focus in Landscape Design. Learning how people interact and shape the land and environment around them sparked in me an interest to travel and learn about human interaction in different environments. Through my service as a Peace Corps volunteer, I had the opportunity to see how the tropical moist forest shapes the lives of the Ngöbe people. I worked side by side with the women of Chalite, farming, gathering plants and learning about their views of the forest. This thesis is the result of many months of learning what it means to be a Ngöbe woman. “Go with the People. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But of the best leaders, when the job is done, the task accomplished, The people will all say, 'We have done this ourselves'." -Lao Tsu China, 700 BC iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with any work, although only one name graces the cover of this thesis it would not have been possible but for the efforts of many. I cannot thank everyone who has touched my life these last four years, but all of you have contributed to the completion of this work. Specifically, I thank Bob Dainton for his friendship and unending interest and suggestions throughout our shared Peace Corps service. I also thank Jason Cochran, my APCD, for encouraging words. I also wish to thank the people of Proyecto Ngöbe-Buglé for freely providing me with their research and for their interest in my project. I thank my graduate committee, Andrew Storer, Marty Jurgensen, and Tom VanDam for their comments and suggestions. I thank Holly Martin and Greer Gurganus for their endless encouragement and helpful edits. I cannot express the amount of thanks I have for Blair Orr; advisor, mentor, friend, who has never given up on me and pushed me to always do better. Thanks go also to my parents and siblings, who don’t always understand me but always love me without question. I wish to thank the women of Mesi Chali; sisters, teachers, friends whom I will always cherish and keep in my heart. Their laughter and secrets whisper in my dreams. Finally, I thank Russell Slatton, my partner in the fullest sense of the word, husband, teacher, pupil, cherished friend whose support never fails and love never ends. Ma da brade kuin, Chodi! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE…………………………………………………………………………………. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………. iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES……………………………………………………. vi ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………….. viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………. 1 CHAPTER II BACKGROUND OF PANAMA Geography………………………………………………………………………… 5 History…………………………………………………………………………….. 10 People and Economy………………………………………………………...... 14 Agriculture and Natural Resources………………………………............. 15 CHAPTER III STUDY AREA Bocas del Toro Province………………………………………………............ 19 The Comarca Ngöbe-Buglé……………………………………………........... 25 The Village of Chalite…………………………………………………............. 29 CHAPTER IV ETHNOBOTANICAL REVIEW OF AECHMEA MAGDALENAE Ethnobotany……………………………………………………………............. 42 Non timber forest products…………………………………….................... 43 The Pita Plant, Aechmea Magdalenae…………………………................. 45 CHAPTER V METHODOLOGY Participant observation………………………………………………............. 55 Interviews……………………………………………………………………........ 57 Verification....................................................................................... 63 Obstacles……………………………………………………………………......... 65 Analysis………………………………………………………………………........ 66 CHAPTER VI RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Demographics…………………………………………………………............... 70 The Processing of Fiber.......................………………………………......... 73 The Change in Use of Pita Plant Over Time……………………………..… 82 Discussion……………………………………………………………………….... 99 CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions……………………………………………………………………… 102 Recommendations……………………………………………………………….. 103 LITERATURE CITED…………………………………………………………………...... 111 APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………………….. 118 v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES FIGURE 1. Panama’s location in the Caribbean………………………………… 6 FIGURE 2. Panama map with Provincial delineations………………………… 8 FIGURE 3. The Canal entrance from the Bridge of the Americas......……… 13 FIGURE 4. Bocas del Toro…………………………………………………………… 18 FIGURE 5. Rainfall Patterns in Bocas del Toro as compared to those on Pacific slope (David) . …………………………………………….... 20 FIGURE 6. Map of Bocas del Toro ………………………………………………… 21 FIGURE 7. Shoreline of Bocas del Toro mainland…………………………….. 22 FIGURE 8. Overlooking the Bocas Del Toro Landscape………………………. 23 FIGURE 9. Political map of the Comarca Ngöbe-Buglé ……………………….. 28 FIGURE 10. Map of Guarivara River Region ……………………………………. 30 FIGURE 11. Map of Chalite …………………………………………………………. 31 FIGURE 12. Town of Chalite, school (blue buildings) ………………………… 32 FIGURE 13. A typical Ngöbe house and a missionary-built house…………. 34 FIGURE 14. Dugout canoe for family……………………………………………... 36 FIGURE 15. Larger canoe on the Guariviara……………………………………. 37 FIGURE 16. Rainforest trails………………………………………………………… 37 FIGURE 17. Typical farm in Chalite……………………………………………….. 40 FIGURE 18. Pita plant and flower………………………………………………….. 46 FIGURE 19. Aechmea magdalenae growth habit……………………………….. 47 FIGURE 20. Aechmea magdalenae fibers……………………………………….. 50 FIGURE 21. Products made from A. magdalenae fiber………………………... 50 FIGURE 22. Dense colony of Aechmea magdalenae……………………………. 51 FIGURE 23. Participant observation………………………………………………. 56 FIGURE 24. Members of the women’s group Mesi Chali ……………………... 62 FIGURE 25. Typical Ngöbe woman and child outside their home............... 70 FIGURE 26. Percentage of time spent on activities (weekly)....................... 72 vi FIGURE 27. Harvesting pita leaves............................................................ 73 FIGURE 28. Removing spines from pita leaf.............................................. 74 FIGURE 29. Extraction of fiber from leaf................................................... 75 FIGURE 30. Cleaning newly extracted pita............................................... 75 FIGURE 31. Dye plants su, kuro, and kare................................................ 78 FIGURE 32. Extraction of dye from plant.................................................. 79 FIGURE 33. Newly dyed kiga..................................................................... 79 FIGURE 34. Making string from kiga......................................................... 80 FIGURE 35. Fashioning kra ...................................................................... 81 FIGURE 36. Plastic sacks.......................................................................... 90 FIGURE 37. Signs of a modern house: kra made from nylon string, a modern propane powered oven and stove, and plastic bleach bottles....................................................... 91 FIGURE 38. Ceremonial kra vs. work kra.................................................. 93 TABLES TABLE 1. Topics and questions used to generate unstructured interviews….............................................................................. 58 TABLE 2. Standard Measurements and prices of kiga………………………… 77 TABLE 3. Dye plants used by Ngöbe women of Chalite.............................. 78 TABLE 4. Significant variables correlated with “Age at which first learned to make kra”, at a 0.10 level of statistical significance... 94 TABLE 5. Pearson correlation coefficients related to the emerging market of buyers and sellers in Chalite ……………………………… 97 TABLE 6. Comparison of changes in pita use over time............................. 99 vii ABSTRACT The pita plant, Aechmea magdalenae, is a non-timber forest product used among the Ngöbe women of Chalite, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Ngöbe women harvest fiber from this plant, dye this fiber and make hammocks, fishing nets, ropes and bags called kra. This study uses the methods of participant observation and unstructured, informal interviews to define the use of the plant in this village and to determine a change in the use of the pita plant in recent years. Results indicate that some women have lost the knowledge of extraction, dying and fashioning of bags while others have improved upon