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Gendered Homegardens: A Study in Three Mountain Areas of the Iberian Peninsula

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Abstract

Gendered Homegardens: A Study in Three Mountain Areas of the Iberian Peninsula. As an example of the importance of gender relations in the use of natural resources, several authors have analyzed the role of women in homegardens. Gendered differences in homegarden management have been difficult to disentangle due to the often–shared nature of gardening. Here, we use an innovative approach to analyze gendered differences in the characteristics and management of homegardens. Specifically, we use information on the prevalence of different household members in gardening activities to classify homegardens as women’s, men’s, or shared. Then, we compare several garden characteristics across the three types of homegardens. For the case study, we use data from homegardens in three rural areas of the Iberian Peninsula. We found that household members generally share homegarden responsibilities in these three regions and that many homegarden characteristics vary with the distribution of gardening tasks. Specifically, we discovered that gardens managed mainly by men were larger, more distant from the dwelling, and better exposed than gardens managed by women. Men and women also used different management techniques; organic fertilizers and traditional pest control management systems predominated in gardens managed by women. Men and women also differed in how they reportedly use garden products, with women favoring household consumption versus sale or gifting. Last, gardens managed mainly by women had a larger diversity of uses for species and a larger diversity of species per unit area. Cultural norms of what is considered appropriate behavior for men and women help explain differences in garden characteristics and their plant composition and structure.

Resumen

Huertos y género: Un estudio en tres regiones de montaña de la Península Ibérica. En un intento de entender la importancia de las relaciones de género en el uso de los recursos naturales, varios autores han analizado el papel de las mujeres en los huertos domésticos. Debido a que muchos huertos son gestionados por varios miembros del hogar, es difícil identificar las diferencias de género en el manejo de los huertos. En este artículo utilizamos un enfoque innovador para analizar diferencias de género en las características y manejo de los huertos. Específicamente, utilizamos información sobre el predominio de diferentes miembros del hogar en el cuidado del huerto para clasificar los huertos como de hombres, de mujeres, o compartidos. Luego comparamos las características de estos tres tipos de huertos. El estudio fue realizado en tres zonas rurales de montaña de la Península Ibérica. Hallamos que las responsabilidades del manejo de los huertos son a menudo compartidas y que muchas características de los huertos varían según la distribución de las tareas. Los huertos manejados por hombres principalmente son más grandes, más alejados de la casa, y tienen una mejor exposición que los manejados por mujeres. El género también influye en el predominio de técnicas de manejo; la fertilización orgánica y los métodos tradicionales de control de plagas predominan en los huertos de mujeres. También hallamos diferencias en el destino de los productos del huerto: las mujeres favorecen el consumo en el hogar en vez de la venta o el regalo. Por último, los huertos manejados principalmente por mujeres tienen una mayor diversidad de usos de especies y una mayor diversidad de especies por unidad de área. Las normas culturales que determinan el comportamiento culturalmente correcto para hombres y mujeres ayudan a explicar las diferencias en las características, la composición, y la estructura de los huertos caseros.

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Acknowledgments

Research was funded by the Programa de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (España) (SEJ2007–60873/SOCI). We would like to thank all the tenders who collaborated in the project. We also thank Gerardo Ochoa and Laura Vaqué-Núñez for help collecting the data, Martha Chavez for help in data management, Javier Tardío for bibliographic leads. We also thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for comments to a previous version of the article. Those comments have greatly improved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Victoria Reyes-García.

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Reyes-García, V., Vila, S., Aceituno-Mata, L. et al. Gendered Homegardens: A Study in Three Mountain Areas of the Iberian Peninsula. Econ Bot 64, 235–247 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-010-9124-1

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