Since the 1990s, several rural development, watershed management, primary health care, and adult education programs have been implemented in Jocotán[17] and the "development industry" has become an important component of the local economy and social life. Most educated people are, or have been, working for the development programs and institutions and development jargon has become part of people’s everyday language.
Some of the lasting results of these projects include a new generation of literate campesino farmers which has grown-up with an awareness of environmental and social problems and with a willingness to learn new things. Appropriate technology has been disseminated and, in some cases, has become part of people’s life. Roads, transport facilities and other rural infrastructure are available in most aldeas and are kept in good condition. Several "alternative" small-scale income-generating activities have been promoted and a greater variety of agricultural products and commodities are now exchanged in the pueblo and in the aldeas. The power and influence of coyotes (middlemen) has been reduced and the local market has become more dynamic. Furthermore, the Catholic Church and other charity organizations regularly distribute food aid to the extremely poor. Gender equity is increasingly becoming a reality for campesino women, and Ch’orti’ cultural identity is being re-vitalized by local pan-Mayan movements. Two local radios, a cable TV station and three Internet-cafés connect the pueblo with the rest of the world.
The influence of the development industry on local patterns of consumption and lifestyle are more visible than its effects on campesino household livelihoods. On-farm diversification activities (such as vegetables, fruit, home yard animals, organic fertilizer, coffee, seedlings, etc.) are widespread in the area. However, most Ch’orti’ and Ladino household economies continue to be based on on-farm grain production for self-consumption (through the milpa system) and seasonal wage labor. Indeed, project-promoted income generating activities are perceived by most campesinos as useful as an additional source of income, but not remunerative enough to replace their existing livelihood strategies.
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[16] Information presented in
this section was collected through participant observation and ethnographic
interviews. [17] See for instance Raffalli, S. and Cruz, A. (2001) "Diagnóstico y evaluación basal del Programa Especial de Seguridad Alimentaria (área de Sololá)"; FIDA (1998) "PROZACHI. La historia de un proyecto para el desarrollo de pequeños productores en Zacapa y Chiquimula"; ACH (2001) "Estudio de amenazas, vulnerabilidad y riesgos antes los desastres". |
