GRADUATE STUDIES BULLETIN

ANNOUNCEMENT

Florida International University

Division of Graduate Studies

Proposal Seminar

Abstract

A Comparative Study of Ngobe (Guaymí) and Tico House Gardens in

Southern Costa Rica

by

Anne Frances

House gardens are a traditional agroforestry system in the American tropics, providing a convenient source of food, medicine, and sometimes commercially grown plants. Although not intensively studied until recently, house gardens are being promoted as economically efficient systems and models of sustainable agriculture. Women and children typically manage the garden, which is characterized by small units (<0.5 ha) with several vertical strata and high species diversity. The study of house gardens provides a useful format to document information about women's plant use and knowledge, and can lead to more realistic land management strategies.

The purpose of this study is to document the plant resources obtained from house gardens of the Ngobe, a Costa Rican indigenous group, and those of Ticos, descended from the Spanish. Research will be conducted in the town of Sabanilla and on the Ngobe Reserve of Coto Brus, both of which are located about 10 km north of the Las Cruces Biological Station, close to San Vito. The goal of the study is twofold: 1) to document knowledge of Ngobe and Tico plant use and management before it is lost, and 2) to determine how demographic variables such as ethnicity, age, and gender affect species composition and diversity of home gardens. This project will provide baseline data for applied research aimed at increasing productivity of subsistence foods, improving nutrition in the Ngobe diet, and developing realistic land management strategies for conservation. The information collected will be compiled into a booklet and distributed to the communities at the completion of the study.

Date: December 3, 2001 Department: Biological Sciences

Time: 12:00 p.m. Major Professor: Dr. Brad Bennett

Place: University Park, WC 130