Local Botanical Knowledge and Agrobiodiversity: Homegardens at Rural and Periurban Contexts in Argentina

POCHETTINO, MARIA LELIA; HURRELL, JULIO; LEMA, VERONICA

Horticulture

In-Tech

Año: 2012; p. 105 - 132

In the last years, one of the outstanding issues in Ethnobotany has been the study of homegardens and the practice of horticulture. Homegardens are those variable extension spaces placed in the surroundings of the houses that are devoted to the culture of plants for family consumption (exceptionally marketed as a complement of household incomes). The reason for these studies is the importance that homegardens have in the conservation of agrobiodiversity, in particular at the infraspecific level. The cultivated species and varieties, as well as management strategies and selection criteria in homegardens, are not governed by market rules, but by a different kind of factors. On the one hand, the composition of homegardens and its cultivation practices reflect a corpus of knowledge gained through the adaptative management of natural resources as the result of the direct relationship with local environment conditions. On the other hand, selection criteria are related with culture and traditions, such as food preferences, culinary habits, ceremonies, or even special significations: personal memories or particular moments related to the household who owns the garden. Nevertheless, gardeners are involved in different social processes, as the incorporation to formal economy or migrations to new settlements with a completely different environment, which prompts them to incorporate new kinds of knowledges, species or varieties and practices. The aim of this work is to explore the contribution of homegardens in the conservation of agrobiodiversity in two different biocultural contexts. The first is a rural one in Northwestern Argentina, where agriculture is practiced since 2000 years ago and strong local traditions can be traced. The second is a periurban context in Buenos Aires province, where settlements are no older than 100 years and the relationships human beings-nature are the result of the combination of factors of diverse origin, linked to traditions or non traditional influences. Through ethnobotanical cualitative methodology (participant observation, open and open-ended interviews) the plants and its associated information in 30 domestic units of both study areas were registered. We present homegardens features, cultivated species and varieties, their origin, management practices and selection criteria applied to them and related to local botanical knowledge and values. The results are comparatively discussed to evaluate the diversification of the horticultural scope in both contrasting contexts, attending to the variables responsible for the homegardens structure and dynamics and their role in the conservation of biocultural diversity.