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Home Gardens Sustain Crop Diversity and Improve Farm Resilience in Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico

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Abstract

Home gardens are land use units embedded in a larger land use system, in this case in Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we investigated how home gardens are integrated into local farming practices and how these influence biodiversity. Our findings suggest that home gardens harbour high levels of biodiversity, which are maintained and enriched by farmers’ practices, particularly plant and seed exchange. Plant diversity is higher in younger home gardens and in home gardens where owners actively exchange plant material with other people. Through plant exchange, seed storage, and the dispersion of seeds and plants in different land uses, farmers encourage plant diversity and consequently increase the resilience of their farming system in changing climatic, demographic and economic conditions. Both men and women participate in the establishment, care and management of home gardens, but they are responsible for different plants and home garden functions. For economic reasons, the inhabitants of Candelaria Loxicha are increasingly engaging in international migration. Migrants, upon their return bring new ideas and plants that might transform the rural landscape.

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Notes

  1. Farmers in Candelaria Loxicha distinguish between patios and huertos (in other places huertos might be considered home gardens). According to this distinction, patios have several functions whereas huertos have mainly a commodity production function.

  2. People in Candelaria Loxicha refer to themselves as of mixed origins (somos revueltos): natives or naturales are those of Zapotec descent and speak Zapoteco, those whose ancestors came from other areas are called avecindados and do not speak Zapoteco. This distinction is important vis-à-vis people from other municipalities who all might be considered avecindados (as in Pluma Hidalgo) or naturales (as in San Agustin Loxicha).

  3. A female farmer explained it in the following way: My husband does not like to plant flowers, he likes to plant other things, trees, like canela or coffee or bananas, that is what he likes. I like the flowers! The nopal to eat things like that.

  4. Due to its geographical location Candelaria Loxicha is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes and to the effects of “El Niño” which are related to extreme fluctuations in terms of rain and drought. According to Musk (1992) 17% of the hurricanes of the world occur in the region where Candelaria Loxicha is located.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the people of Candelaria Loxicha who kindly shared their time and views with us. Helpful reviews of the manuscript were provided by Harold Wilhite and four anonymous referees. The research presented in this article was in part funded by the Norwegian Research Council project number 158984/510.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, PO Box 1116, Blindern, 0317, Oslo, Norway

    Mariel Aguilar-Støen

  2. Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway

    Mariel Aguilar-Støen & Stein R. Moe

  3. Departamento de Biologia, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, Mexico DF, Mexico

    Sara Lucia Camargo-Ricalde

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  1. Mariel Aguilar-Støen
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  2. Stein R. Moe
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  3. Sara Lucia Camargo-Ricalde
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Correspondence to Mariel Aguilar-Støen.

Appendix

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Table 7 Plant species recorded and used in Candelaria Loxicha Municipality, Oaxaca, Mexico
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Aguilar-Støen, M., Moe, S.R. & Camargo-Ricalde, S.L. Home Gardens Sustain Crop Diversity and Improve Farm Resilience in Candelaria Loxicha, Oaxaca, Mexico. Hum Ecol 37, 55–77 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-008-9197-y

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