Small Farmers in Florida Province, Bolivia: Reciprocity in Practice

• Published in: Mountain research and development Vol. 34; no. 4; pp. 369 - 374
• Main Authors: Bétrisey, Florence, Mager, Christophe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), Institute of Geography, University of Bern Hallerstrasse 10, CH–3012 Bern, Switzerland The International Mountain Society 01.11.2014; International Mountain Society
• Subjects: acculturation; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Biodiversity; Bolivia; Communities; Community; Compensation; Crops; decision making; Economic value; Ecosystems; Farmers; Farming communities; Field study; Florida; Highlands; Irrigation; Management; markets; Meetings; Mountain regions; MountainResearch; organization of work; Peasant class; peasant societies; peasantry; Reciprocity; Research and development; Subsistence farming; Sustainable agriculture; Systems knowledge; Traditions; Water in agriculture; Water management; Water quality; Water-supply, Agricultural; Watershed management; work organization; Bolivia; Florida
• ISSN: 0276-4741; 1994-7151
• DOI: 10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-14-00013.1

Peasant societies are often seen by neoliberal or Marxist theorists as passive subjects of political-economic transformations occurring at a higher level, only surviving through acculturation to market requirements. By analyzing agricultural work organization in highland communities and a local system of water management called Acuerdos Reciprocos por el Agua (Reciprocal Agreements for Water), developed in 2003 by the Natura Bolivia foundation in Florida Province in Bolivia, we show that, contrary to this perception, traditional reciprocal norms still play an essential role in decision making. This suggests the agency of rural societies and the resilience of traditional reciprocity-based norms in mountain regions.