Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
trees were commonplace, more than 95 per cent of respondents said most of
the fruit was used only for household consumption and any surplus was given
to neighbours. Very few respondents sold fruit from their patios; some
respondents explained that they only sold to strangers.
Non-fruit trees and medicinal plants and herbs are also part of the
ecology of patios in San Augusto, although they were not as prominent as
fruit trees and ornamentals. In some cases, medicinal plants and herbs were
di
cult to grow because of the shade generated by large fruit trees. Most of
the women did not consider this a problem, however, because they found
small sunny areas at the margins of their patio to grow commonly used
medicinal plants and herbs such as albahaca (basil), culantro (variety of
coriander), chillies
10
and hierba buena (mint). Such plants contributed to
household food consumption and health care. For example, basil is used to
treat earache.
The diverse composition of plants and trees in patios has produced
particular human-environment relations, which simultaneously were a result
of socio-ecological networks of household members, neighbours, family and
other environments. There were clear differences between the patios that
men and women mapped; women on average mapped and identified more
plants and greater diversity of species, suggesting that they pay more attention
to the patios. Indeed, patios tended to reflect women's desires and needs. That
women were the main participants in the urban agricultural workshops
indicates
the patios were managed through women's
socio-ecological
networks.
Network assemblages at work: Connections and relations
The socio-ecological networks of participants were identified from the stories
that they told about the plants and trees in their patios. The categories
outlined in Table 11.4 illustrate different relations and interactions that
participants utilized in creating their patios. There were four main ways in
which participants obtained the plants and trees in their patios: purchased,
given, found or other (grew spontaneously). Within these main categories,
there were several more specific ways. Table 11.4 presents the proportion in
each, disaggregated by gender and plant type.
These categories illustrate the most frequently used and most important
socio-ecological networks for households. The majority of fruit trees in patios
(37 per cent) were obtained through the purchasing of fruit, usually at
Managua's largest market, Mercado Oriental. The seed is planted in the patio
after the fruit is consumed. In contrast, ornamentals were rarely purchased; 8
per cent had been bought, while 65 per cent had been given by friends, family,
neighbours or strangers. Women obtained and exchanged all types of plants
and trees through their social networks far more frequently than men. For
example, women acquired 25 per cent of ornamentals and 13 per cent of fruit
trees from neighbours, whereas men obtained none of the fruit trees and only
6 per cent of ornamentals from neighbours. Common to both women and
