Browsing by Author "Marchant, Carla"

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    Agrobiodiversity in mountain territories: family farming and the challenges of social-environmental changes
    (Springer, 2023) Ibarra Eliessetch, Jose Tomas; Marchant, Carla; Olivares, Fernanda; Caviedes, Julián; Santana Sagredo, Francisca; Monterrubio-Solís, Constanza; Sarmiento, Fausto O.; Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile
    Family farming plays a fundamental role in food production. However, it faces rapid processes of social-environmental change, such as the application of hegemonic agrarian modernization policies and restrictions on the circulation of traditional seeds. Institutional changes are also altering practices and social relations, while climate change is the main factor in biodiversity loss and increased human vulnerability and the threat to livelihoods. The negative effects of these processes are particularly alarming in mountain territories. These systems are considered “biocultural refuges” since they often contain high levels of agrobiodiversity, complex systems of knowledge, and unique agricultural practices with identity value for local communities and indigenous peoples. This chapter examines the role of mountain family farming as a biocultural refuge and discusses the challenges it faces in a context of social-environmental crises, describing cases of mountain agricultural systems in nine of the world’s main mountain territories and showing that they are fragile spaces and highly vulnerable to certain processes of social-environmental change. For this reason, we urge the identification and promotion of strategies to foster the adaptation and resilience of mountain family farming as a way of contributing to the food security and sovereignty of the communities that inhabit these territories.
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    Saberes etnoveterinarios en Wallmapu ¿Cuáles son los conocimientos, prácticas y creencias de campesinos mapuche y no-mapuche en torno a la crianza animal?
    (2021) Olivares, Fernanda; Marchant, Carla; Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás
    Los saberes etnoveterinarios (SE) se conceptualizan como el conjunto de conocimientos (corpus), prácticas (praxis) y creencias (kosmos) relacionadas con la crianza de animales domésticos productivos, los cuales, se conservan en la memoria de diferentes pueblos. En este estudio documentamos los SE sobre manejo animal y manejo sanitario que poseen campesinos mapuche y no-mapuche de Pucón y Curarrehue, Región de La Araucanía, Chile. Considerando un enfoque mixto de investigación, entrevistamos a 60 campesinos durante los meses de enero a marzo 2021. En los SE sobre manejo animal, el corpus se representa en el conocimiento sobre las condiciones climáticas características de cada estación del año, a partir de las cuales se implementan las praxis de forrajeo, partos, esquila, veranadas, encastes y desparasitaciones. El conocimiento sobre fases lunares determina las prácticas de corte de cola y castración. En los manejos sanitarios, el corpus se manifiesta por el conocimiento de 30 especies de plantas y árboles efectivos para el tratamiento de enfermedades, siendo mencionados con mayor frecuencia el canelo (Drimys winteri; n=24) y el junquillo (Juncus procerus; n=20). En la praxis, la preparación de los tratamientos mediante técnicas de cocción (33%) y maceración (13%) junto con las vías de administración oral (77%) y tópica (13%) son las más utilizadas. El kosmos, para campesinos mapuche, está representado por un complejo sistema de creencias, siendo la rogativa del nguillatun la instancia en que “se agradece y pide por la salud de todos los seres”. Los resultados muestran que los SE emergen en el convivir, se transmiten en el hacer y se salvaguardan en la memoria. Además, se observa una interrupción en la transmisión intergeneracional de los SE sanitarios en la praxis, debido al reemplazo por tratamientos alopáticos. En este contexto, documentar y compartir los SE permitirá su resguardo y multiplicación para su uso actual y futuro.
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    Social-ecological resilience: Knowledge of agrobiodiversity by campesinos and migrants in the face of global changes
    (2024) Ibarra, Jose Tomas; Caviedes, Julian; Monterrubio-Solis, Constanza; Barreau, Antonia; Marchant, Carla
    There is concern that agrobiodiversity is being irreversibly eroded in the face of agricultural industrialization. While academic and policy debates stress loss of landraces, little attention has been paid to evaluating how agricultural knowledge systems endure in response to broader social-ecological changes (i.e., "system's resilience"). For being resilient, agricultural knowledge systems should incorporate new information (modern seed varieties) whilst maintaining its traditional components (landraces) and functions. However, the loss or continuing utilization of landraces may be influenced by several social-ecological filters, which are processes that selectively remove varieties according to their phenotype, local uses, or value. We examined the resilience of agricultural knowledge systems in the southern Andes. These systems include the knowledge of landraces and modern varieties by campesinos and lifestyle migrants. We further assessed the association of social-ecological filters with the knowledge of agrobiodiversity. Over four years (2018-2022), we used mixed-methods including semi-structured interviews with gardener experts and conducted knowledge exercises of seed varieties and surveys of gardeners (n = 132). We assessed the association of 'knowledge score on varieties' (general, landraces, and modern) with a priori-defined social-ecological filters. Gardeners with more proficient knowledge of landraces were more knowledgeable of modern varieties too. The general knowledge of agrobiodiversity and the knowledge of landraces, but not of modern varieties, was higher for campesinos than migrants. The main seed source of gardeners, the participation in seed exchanges, gardeners' origin, and gardeners' age were the social-ecological filters that influenced gardeners ' knowledge of agrobiodiversity. We highlight that socialecological, small-scale farming systems, are being resilient when they have the capacity of incorporating new information (knowledge of modern varieties) whilst maintaining their identity (knowledge of landraces) without undergoing a major shift in their basic structures and functions in this Important Agricultural Heritage Site and Global Biodiversity Hotspot, and beyond.
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    Territorios con memoria: redes socioecológicas y agrobiodiversidad en el sur de los Andes
    (2021) Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás; Barrera, María Guadalupe; Santana, Francisca; Cortés, Josefina; Monterrubio Solís, Constanza; Caviedes, Julián; Perasso, Paolo; Marchant, Carla
    Las redes socioecológicas son complejas y simpoiéticas. A partir de las relaciones entre actores, como nodos de una red, se moviliza la agrobiodiversidad y se genera la memoria biocultural como propiedad emergente del sistema agroalimentario. Esta memoria está actúa a través de escalas espaciales y temporales y se encuentra resguardada en repositorios de memoria que van desde las semillas, pasando por las huertas, hasta alcanzar territorios completos. Nuestro trabajo de investigación-acción-educación agroecológica explora, mediante un enfoque relacional (cuantitativo y cualitativo), la agricultura familiar y las redes socioecológicas de intercambio de semillas y saberes en Wallmapu. Presentamos el enfoque metodológico, resultados generales de investigación y actividades de vinculación territorial para fortalecer la resiliencia de la agricultura familiar en el sur de los Andes.
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    “The climate itself must have hidden some medicines” : traditional veterinary medicine of indigenous and non-indigenous campesinos of the southern Andes
    (2022) Olivares, Fernanda; Marchant, Carla; Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Sede Regional Villarrica; ECOS (Ecosystem-Complexity-Society) Co-Laboratory, Center for Local Development, (CEDEL). Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Campus Villarrica; Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (CIIR). Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Campus Villarrica
    Traditional veterinary medicine (TVM) or ethnoveterinary medicine comprises knowledge, practices, and beliefs about farm animals. Its study serves to offer ecologically and culturally appropriate strategies for the management of animals and their health in a context marked by the increased use of synthetic pharmaceuticals, social–environmental degradation, pollution, and climate change. In this study, we examine the TVM that Mapuche and non-Mapuche campesinos in the southern Andes have about the management of animals and their health. In addition, we investigate the main factors influencing the current use of TVM. Methods: Between December 2020 and March 2021, we undertook participant observation and conducted 60 semi-structured and informal interviews with Mapuche and non-Mapuche campesinos from the Pucón and Curarrehue municipal districts in the southern Andes of Chile. Results: We identified a set of knowledge about cycles and manifestations of nature used in planning 14 animal management practices related to a Mapuche kosmos expressed in living with respect for and in dialogue with non-human elements. On health management, we recorded knowledge about 30 plant species, whose use for different categories of wounds and parasites has the highest informant consensus factors. The use of these plant species is governed by a kosmos associated with respect and reciprocity in their gathering. Nonetheless, 70% of the campesinos interviewed prefer to use synthetic pharmaceuticals. We found that the growing use of synthetic pharmaceuticals, the processes of reduction and change in the structure of land ownership, and climate change are perceived as the main factors behind processes of assimilation of new praxis and hybridization as well as the reduction and/or loss of the use of TVM. Conclusion: Our results reveal the presence of ethnoveterinary knowledge, practices, and beliefs that are safeguarded by Mapuche and non-Mapuche campesinos in the southern Andes. However, in the context of different social–environmental changes, it is imperative to document, visibilize, and revitalize TVM since it provides new perspectives for bioculturally diverse and sustainable animal production.
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    The Future of Rurality: Place Attachment among Young Inhabitants of Two Rural Communities of Mediterranean Central Chile
    (2022) Rodriguez-Diaz, Paulina; Almuna, Rocio; Marchant, Carla; Heinz, Sally; Lebuy, Roxana; Celis-Diez, Juan L.; Diaz-Siefer, Pablo
    Rural livelihoods are under threat, not only from climate change and soil erosion but also because young people in rural areas are increasingly moving to urbanized areas, seeking employment and education opportunities. In the Valparaiso region of Chile, megadrought, soil degradation, and industrialization are driving young people to leave agricultural and livestock activities. In this study, our main objective was to identify the factors influencing young people living in two rural agricultural communities (Valle Hermoso and La Vega). We conducted 90 online surveys of young people aged 13-24 to evaluate their interest in living in the countryside (ILC). We assessed the effect of community satisfaction, connectedness to nature, and social valuation of rural livelihoods on the ILC. The results show that young people were more likely to stay living in the countryside when they felt satisfied and safe in their community, felt a connection with nature, and were surrounded by people who enjoyed the countryside. These results highlight the relevance of promoting place attachment and the feeling of belonging within the rural community. Chilean rural management and local policies need to focus on rural youth and highlight the opportunities that the countryside provides for them.
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    Vulnerability of small-scale farming livelihoods under climate variability in a globally important archipelago of the Global South
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024) Oyarzo, Camilo; Kaulen, Santiago; Marchant, Carla; Rodríguez, Paulina; Caviedes, Julián; Miranda, Marcelo D.; Schlicht, Germán; Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás
    © 2024In recent decades, the pace of change in social-ecological systems has accelerated. The adverse effects of climate variability and extreme events put increasing pressure on rural small-scale farmers' households whose livelihoods depend on nature. However, socioeconomic, political, and institutional changes also affect this group, responsible for producing at least a third of the world's food. This study assessed the influence of climate variability on the spatial distribution of the social-ecological vulnerability of small farmers' livelihoods within a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in southern South America. Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey of 100 small-scale farmers' households, selected via stratified random sampling. Climate variability and extreme event data spanning 30 years were included, with spatial and temporal resolutions of 1 × 1 km and one year, respectively. Through an indicator-based approach, the study identified 17 vulnerability indicators across Exposure, Sensitivity, and Adaptive Capacity components. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) for small-scale farming in the Chiloé Archipelago was calculated at the household level, following the IPCC vulnerability assessment framework and the Sustainable Livelihoods perspective. The findings reveal that LVI values for small-scale farmers ranged from 0.28 (least vulnerable) to 0.54 (most vulnerable). Principal Component Analysis indicated that agricultural extension support, supplementary income, social relations, and ownership of agricultural equipment enhance local adaptive capacity. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed clustering in exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability patterns. The finding suggests that extension interventions should strengthen vulnerable households' adaptive capacity by supporting rural livelihood diversification.