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Poverty and Dependency in Indigenous Rural Livelihoods: M apuche Experiences in the A ndean Foothills of C hile
Author(s) -
Vergara Elvis Parraguez,
Barton Jonathan R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of agrarian change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.63
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1471-0366
pISSN - 1471-0358
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0366.2012.00380.x
Subject(s) - livelihood , subsistence agriculture , poverty , economic growth , natural resource , indigenous , vulnerability (computing) , foothills , rural area , geography , socioeconomics , agriculture , business , environmental planning , political science , sociology , economics , ecology , computer security , cartography , archaeology , computer science , law , biology
Rural livelihoods are complex systems of interrelating factors that include human, social, natural, physical and financial capitals. By looking at these capitals in the context of a rural M apuche community in the Andean foothills, in the local area of C urarrehue ( A raucanía R egion), it is possible to discern the different challenges being faced and how these can be contextualized in terms of poverty and vulnerability linked to a limited resource base, and also the strong dependent relation with the state and its diverse public policies in the region. Using semi‐structured interviews with the community members, public‐sector officers and academics, and also field observations, this complex local scenario is analysed with a view to understanding the threats that exist for M apuche livelihoods and the assets that they can mobilize to counter these threats. The paper concludes that physical, natural and financial assets are severely limited and remain the reasons why there is heavy dependency on state resources to maintain these subsistence livelihoods. Traditional knowledge is losing ground against increasingly transcultural influences and practices, while endemic biodiversity is being replaced with monoculture. Consequently, community members (human capital) – in particular, the younger generations – are leaving the community to seek more viable livelihood options, mostly in urban areas. These factors point to the limitations of these local livelihoods based on dependent small‐scale subsistence farming continuing in their current form. This situation poses a serious challenge for Mapuche rural communities and their traditional practices, and also for the C hilean state and the relationship between the two.