Agriculture Reference
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necessarily hinder the way that communities attend to social and environmental
challenges.
In this study, human-environment relations are seen as networks
comprising of interactions between people, plants and other living creatures.
Gender and development studies have shown that individuals and households
depend on informal social networks for their livelihood strategies (Moser,
1993; Peake and Trotz, 1999; Silvey and Elmhirst, 2003). These kin and
friendship networks enable individuals to acquire and share resources, and to
assist with their livelihood strategies (Peake and Trotz, 1999). 4 Indeed, it has
been noted that these kin and friendship networks have engendered collective
efforts to empower women in their everyday lives and in politics (Moser,
1993; Kabeer, 1994; Agrawal, 2000).
Recently, work in feminist geography and political ecology has argued
that such networks are not only social, but that they are also connected to
particular ecologies such as plants, trees and other natural resources. As Ro
(2001, p78) explains, socio-ecological networks are 'patterns and processes of
habit-forming connections between people (individuals and groups), other
beings, physical surroundings and artefacts'. This understanding of networks
emphasizes the complex ways that people deal with social and environmental
change. That humans rely on both social and ecological elements to deal with
livelihood struggles is not a new recognition, but this reliance goes beyond
food and economics (Rocheleau, 2001; Wolch et al, 2001; Page, 2002).
M ETHODOLOGY
Data collection
Research methods are aimed at gathering information on relations and
interactions between individuals and plants in the households, and their
influence on the development of sustainable UA in San Augusto, a poor,
residential area in Managua, Nicaragua. San Augusto is a barrio that was
settled informally during the mid-1990s. It is located well inside the legal city
limits, but is at the southern edge of urban development in the city (Figure
11.1). This barrio is among the poorest in Managua and remains without
most urban services, with limited infrastructure.
The research involved two different methods. Primary data was obtained
through interviews with relevant government departments and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based interviews, participatory
mapping and focus groups. Secondary data was gathered by a review of
literature and archival research. The collection of secondary data involved
examination of different current and historical policies and projects. However,
due to di culties experienced in accessing research materials and documents
from the archives, o cial government and non-governmental interviews became
the main source of information. At the community level, two NGOs, the
Fundacio´ n Nicaragu ¨ ense Pro-Desarrollo Comunitario Integral (FUNDECI) and
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