Description
Small-scale, peasant farmers are some of the most vulnerable people to the effects of climate change. They rely on a stable climate to support their natural ways of farming, which typically depends on consistent rainfall, temperate weather, and predictable season cycles. The perceptions of how successful coffee production is during shifting climatic disruptions is of key importance, if mitigation or adaptation efforts are to be successfully implemented. By using ethnographic methods with members of a coffee cooperative in Mexico, called Cafe Justo, I found that peasant farmers are very perceptive of the climatic changes and recognize forthcoming challenges as a result of changes in weather and precipitation levels. Rain-fed agriculture remains particularly vulnerable to coffee market demands, as coffee production for the majority of the cooperative members is the primary source of income. Through interpretive analysis of in-depth interview data collected from 19 coffee-famers in Chiapas, Mexico, I identified factors associated with perceptions of changing climate and weather conditions. Social identities, general perceptions of climate change, and impacts on livelihoods were investigated through the speaking-with model, as it was presented by Nagar and Geiger in 2007. These findings have rich implications for co-learning between the small-scale, coffee farmers and the scientific community so that mitigation and adaptation strategies are discussed. The findings also merit further investigation into future migration changes due to mass exoduses of climate refugees who are no longer able to successfully cultivate and harvest the lands to serve their needs and those of their community.
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Details
Title
- Peasant coffee farmers and climate change: the case of Café Justo in Chiapas, México
Contributors
- Villarreal, Anisa (Author)
- Keahey, Jennifer (Thesis advisor)
- Murphy Erfani, Julie (Committee member)
- Shrestha, Milan (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2018
Subjects
- Climate Change
- Agriculture
- Cafe Justo
- Campesinos
- Chiapas
- Mexico
- Climate Change
- Coffee
- Crops and climate--Mexico--Chiapas.
- Crops and climate
- Agriculture, Cooperative--Mexico--Chiapas.
- Agriculture, Cooperative
- Coffee industry--Mexico--Chiapas.
- Coffee industry
- Agricultural laborers--Mexico--Chiapas.
- Agricultural laborers
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
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thesisPartial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2018
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bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (pages 76-79)
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Field of study: Social justice and human rights
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Anisa Villarreal