The Use of Tropical Forest (Agroecosystems and Wild Plant Harvesting) as a Source of Food in the Bribri and Cabecar Cultures in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica

• Published in: Economic botany Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 58 - 71
• Main Authors: García-Serrano, Carlos Ramos, Del Monte, Juan Pablo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg New York Botanical Garden 2004; Bronx, NY The New York Botanical Garden Press; Springer; New York Botanical Garden Press; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: acculturation; Agricultural ecosystems; Agroecosystems; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; beans; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Bribri; Cabecar; Cassava; Citrus fruits; CONTENTS; Corn; Costa Rica; Crop harvesting; Crop rotation; crops; Diet; ethnobotany food plants; Flora; Food sources; Forest resources; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Harvesting; Home gardens; humans; indigenous cultures; Introduced species; Monoculture; Old growth forests; Plantains; Plants; Polyculture; Sechium tacaco; shifting cultivation; Sugarcane; Sustainable use; Tropical forests; Tropical rain forests; wild plants; Caribbean; Costa Rica; Central America; America; Caribbean area; indigenous cultures; Ethnobotany; Harvesting; Agroecosystems; Bribri; Cabecar; Wild plant; Tropical forest; ethnobotany food plants; Agroecosystem; Costa Rica
• ISSN: 0013-0001; 1874-9364
• DOI: 10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0058:TUOTFA]2.0.CO;2

For the Bribri and the Cabecar Indians of Costa Rica the environment is divided in two: the “near”, indigenous space; and the “far”, natural space, which they think does not belong to them. In the former, the following agroecosystems can be distinguished according to biodiversity and intensity of human activity: tropical home garden, rotating slash-and-burn agriculture, plantain polyculture, and plantain monoculture. In the “far” space, these two culturally close groups harvest wild plants observing ancestral rules, which have helped ensure a sustainable use of forest resources. Their diet is based on 84 species, of which 24 are harvested in the “far” environment (hombrón, semko, platanillo, tacaco, etc.) and 60 are obtained in the “near” environment (maize, bean, cacao, manioc, etc.). Owing to acculturation, exotic species (mainly rice, sugarcane, plantain, cacao and citrus fruit) have become part of their diet and crops.