13 pages, The sustainability of milpa agriculture, a traditional Mayan farming system in southern Belize, is uncertain. For centuries, the milpa has been a sustainable agriculture system. The slash-and-burn aspect of milpa farming, however, has become less reliable and less sustainable over the last 50 years due to several factors, including forest loss, climate change, population growth, and other factors. The traditional milpa practices of slash-and-mulch and soil nutrient enrichment (nutrient cycling) are agroecological practices that produce food in a more sustainable way. Agriculture extension, a government service in Belize, can promote additional agroecological practices to address food and livelihood insecurities in milpa communities. This study examines perceptions of these practices from milpa farmers and agricultural extension officers in Belize using a socio-ecological systems (SES) framework. SES considers multidisciplinary linkages, including social, economic, environmental, cultural, and other factors in the agroecological system. The study finds several of these SES linkages between agroecological practices--specifically slash-andmulch and soil nutrient enrichment--and the sustainability of the milpa farming system in southern Belize. Milpa communities are part of the broader SES and therefore are affected by changes to it. Milpa communities can also be enabled and participate in solution-finding. The findings imply that increasing the use of agroecology practices in milpa communities is needed and that government involvement and action, particularly from agriculture extension services, can facilitate a more sustainable milpa farming system and therefore more food and livelihood security in milpa communities in Belize.
Posted at: http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview/3065880, 211 pages 1.02 MB, There is an urgent need for a better understanding of the interplay of information and communication technology (ICT) and the role of women in facilitating social, political and economic development. This research examines engagement of women with ICT in traditional poor, rural, communities of Mali, a least developed country (LDC). Mali was selected as the focus based on its broadly representative LDC challenges and the availability of locally and internationally collected data. This research applies the theoretical framework of international regime theory and development as freedom theory to help explain how ICT diffusion can be an empowerment tool for women in development. Women of Mali face low literacy rates, high birth rates, high infant and maternal mortality rates, and low incomes. This research found ICT applications facilitated positive change in health, education, politics and the economy in Mali. The relationship between international and national regimes in the process of negotiating problem solutions is particularly important to policy analysis of telecommunications and of gender equity. Policy in each of these areas permeates every sector of society. Challenges, obstacles, solutions and benefits of ICT development with gender equity in Mali can inform policymakers' understanding of ICT diffusion and its benefits to people in LDCs. This analysis was based on a literature review, a survey of existing relevant research studies, a country study and a case study of the Multipurpose Community Telecentre (MCT) model for rural ICT development. The country study includes data and reports from the UNDP, ITU, IDRC, USAID and the World Bank. It incorporates history, policy, existing research, statistical human development data over time, ethnographic data, and reports of other ICT projects in Mali. Analyzed together, these data strongly suggest positive and directional change in Mali during 1990 to 2000, a period of dynamic telecommunications and gender equity policy liberalization. The case study of the MCT in Timbuktu includes baseline communications research, on-site ethnographic research, interviews and the MCT Director's report. The Mali MCT was one of five African pilot projects initially supported by ITU, UNESCO and IDRC funds and developed with national and local community support. The MCT is a social communication center that provides ICT education and services. This research focuses on the MCT as an ICT knowledge gathering and distribution center. Influenced by international regime policies for gender equity, Mali's national machineries have implemented gender equity policy in communication access. Women participated in the design, implementation and operation of this MCT. The community open access design was found to be particularly conducive to ICT development through women's social networking. Research indicates women are keepers of indigenous knowledge systems in cultural communities. Content developed from this local knowledge base can contribute to global knowledge systems, cultural integrity and sustainability as well as to economic development. Conclusions of this study are based on findings that Malian ICT development with gender equity in the context of national and international policy engagement contributed to the positive growth in the political, educational and social sectors.
8 pages, Only 30% of households inBairro Boroma(Boromaneighborhood) have a regular proteinintake, mainly due to the lack of a proper cold chain. We analyzed the level of knowledge about alocal dried meat calledchinkui, examining the relationship between this knowledge and its valuefor strengthening local food security. Through surveys ofBairro Boromagoat herders (n=23) about“chinkuiawareness” and passive observation ofchinkuipreparation (n=5) from local biotype goats,we found thatchinkuiwas known to most goat herders (91.3%), but was used only irregularly, mainlybecause knowledge transmission has decreased over time. From passive observation, we foundthat the amount of dried meat obtained from an animal rarely exceeded a yield of 10% and itsperformance and safety depended on weather conditions and the absence of other animals in thearea of preparation. It is, therefore, recommended to strengthen initiatives to increase the amount ofchinkui, based on local knowledge, so as to enhance its frequency of consumption and the possibilityof using it as a sustainable alternative source of protein
