Cultivating alternative subsistence farming practices in Dangriga, Belize

Subsistence farming, also referred to as backyard farming, is an important opportunity for families in areas of low economic status. Small scale poultry farming is another practice often used by families in similar situations because of the financial and nutritional benefits provided. By combining the two practices in a process where they each benefit from the other, a sustainable system can be created. The poultry-garden system can provide a source of food for the household and, if run effectively, supplemental income can be generated through the sale of excess poultry, eggs, or vegetation. This project attempted to take the concept of a sustainable poultry-garden system and create a model of it using the resources available in the city of Dangriga, Belize

Agricultural Information Needs and Food Access in the Stann Creek District of Belize

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face-to-face meetings were used most often by extension officers for disseminating agricultural information. Smallholder farmers and the general public have very similar levels of food access and availability. No significant difference was foundbetween the smallholder farmers and the general public on food insecurity with both groups reporting mild to severe food insecurity. Recommendations focused on practical operational strategies for the local Department of Agriculture, as well as the Belize Ministry of Agriculture to eradicate hungerand increase overall food access and availability throughout Belize

Belize Cookbook Project

I have studied abroad in Belize and teamed up with the ladies of POWA (Productive Organization for Women in Action) to help them produce a cookbook. During this project I researched statistics about Belize to explain the developmental and sustainability problems of the country, gave thorough information about POWA\u27s role in Belize, and recommended a realistic plan for getting the cookbook printed, shipped, and available for sale

Agricultural Information Needs and Food Access in the Stann Creek District of Belize

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face to face meetings were used most often by extension officers for disseminating agricultural information. Smallholder farmers and the general public have very similar levels of food access and availability. Using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), minimaldifference was foundbetween what the smallholder farmers and the general public selected for household food consumption. Both groups reported mild food insecurity, while a few individual respondents reported severe food insecurity. Recommendations of the study focused on practical operational strategies for the local Department of Agriculture, as well as the Belize Ministry of Agriculture. Additionally, development experts and nutrition specialists should review the results and findings and identify what can be done to further eradicate hungerand increase overall food access and availability throughout Belize

Le studio d’enregistrement comme lieu d’expérimentation, outil créatif et vecteur d’internationalisation : Stonetree Records et la paranda garifuna en Amérique centrale

La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).Genre né de la rencontre (imposée par l’exil) au XIXe siècle entre les Garinagu et des populations hispaniques centraméricaines, la paranda connaît aujourd’hui un regain d’intérêt chez les acteurs de la production discographique garifuna. Depuis son apparition dans les studios d’enregistrement, elle a évolué vers une forme modernisée, faisant appel à des instruments électriques et des procédés de traitement du son caractéristiques des musiques « populaires ». Devenue en 2000 (avec la compilation Paranda; Africa in Central America, produite par Ivan Duran et distribuée par Warner/Elektra) une « musique du monde » sur le marché discographique international, cette nouvelle forme de paranda connaît un succès conséquent dans les palmarès de world music – popularité qui se déploie après coup chez les Garinagu centraméricains, qui redécouvrent un genre jusqu’alors quasiment disparu dans sa version villageoise. À partir de l’exemple de la « récupération », à des fins commerciales, d’un genre musical « traditionnel » par un label indépendant centraméricain, cette thèse montre comment un producteur de world music a su se servir du studio d’enregistrement comme d’un outil créatif susceptible de lui ouvrir les portes de l’internationalisation. Utilisant le studio comme laboratoire expérimental, Ivan Duran est ainsi parvenu à réaliser des disques qui – tout en atteignant un succès critique international – allaient lui permettre d’établir son label, Stonetree Records, en tant que standard pour l’ensemble de l’industrie musicale régionale. Afin de comprendre quels mécanismes sont activés (et selon quelles modalités) dans le cadre spatio-temporel spécifique au studio d’enregistrement, cette recherche doctorale prend pour principale étude de cas la réalisation de Laru Beya – dernier album du parandero Aurelio Martinez, réalisé par Ivan Duran et distribué internationalement. Les trois chapitres centraux sont donc consacrés à l’analyse sémiologique de ce disque, avec d’abord une étude 1) des stratégies créatrices en présence (à travers une ethnographie de sessions d’enregistrement, sur une plage du Honduras), puis 2) de l’objet musical tel qu’il a été commercialisé (l’« œuvre » en elle-même) et enfin 3) de différentes conduites d’écoute d’auditeurs-consommateurs garinagu ou non. Tandis que le premier chapitre de cette thèse propose une contextualisation de notre objet de recherche (allant « du village au studio »), le cinquième et dernier chapitre s’attache – après avoir élargi les résultats de notre étude de cas à d’autres phénomènes similaires – à évaluer l’impact des processus d’internationalisation sur la production musicale locale (opérant un retour « du studio au village »).Born from a critical encounter (imposed in exile) between Garifuna people and Spanish-speaking Central American populations, Paranda is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest among stakeholders of the garifuna record production. Since its arrival in the recording studios, it has evolved into a modernized form, using electric instruments and sound treatment techniques taken from popular music. In 2000 (with the release of Paranda; Africa in Central America, produced by Ivan Duran and distributed by Warner/Elektra), Paranda became a world music, thus experiencing a substantial success in world music charts – popularity that unfolds afterwards in Garifuna communities, rediscovering a musical genre that had virtually disappeared in the village. From the example of a “recuperation”, for commercial purposes, of a traditional musical genre by an independent Central American label, this dissertation shows how a world music producer has been able to use the recording studio as a creative tool that opened the doors of internationalization. Using the studio as an experimental lab, Ivan Duran succeeded in making records that, while reaching an international critical success, would also allow him to establish his own label, Stonetree Records, as a standard within the whole regional music industry. To understand which mechanisms are activated (and how) within the spatio-temporal framework defined by the recording studio, this doctoral research will focus on the production of Laru Beya – parandero Aurelio Martinez’s latest album, produced by Ivan Duran and internationally distributed. The three central chapters are devoted to the semiotic analysis of this record, with a study of 1) creative strategies developed in the studio (through an ethnography of recording sessions, which took place on a beach in Honduras), then 2) the musical object as it was marketed (the "work" itself) and finally 3) different listeners’ (Garifuna or not) reactions. While the first chapter of this dissertation provides a contextualization of our research object (from "the studio to the village"), the fifth and final chapter – after extending the results of our case study to other phenomena – focuses on assessing the impact of Paranda’s internationalization on local music production (going back from “the studio to the village”)

Coral symbiodinium community composition across the Belize Mesoamerican barrier reef system is influenced by host species and thermal variability

Accepted manuscrip

Roads, lands, markets, and deforestation : a spatial model of land use in Belize

Rural roads promote economic development but also facilitate deforestation. To explore the tradeoffs between development and environmental damage posed by road building, the authors develop and estimate a spatially explicit model of land use. This model takes into account location and land characteristics and predicts land use at each point on the landscape. They find that: (a) market access and distance to roads strongly affect the probability of agricultural use, especially for commercial agriculture; (b) high slopes, poor drainage, and low soil fertility discourage both commercial and semi subsistence agriculture; and (c) semi-subsistence agriculture is especially sensitive to soil acidity and lack nitrogen (confirming anthropological findings that subsistence farmers are shrewd judges of soil). Spatially explicit models are analytically powerful because they exploit rich spatial variation in causal variables, including the precise siting of roads. They are useful for policy because they can pinpoint threats to particular critical habitats and watersheds. This model is a descendant of the venerable von Thunen model. It assumes that land will tend to be devoted to its highest-value use, taking into account tenure and other constraints. The value of a plot for a particular use depends on the land's physical productivity for that use and the farmgate prices of relevant inputs and outputs. A reduced-form, multinomial logit specification of this model calculates implicit values of land in alternative uses as a function of land location and characteristics. The resulting equations can then be used for prediction or analysis. The model was applied to cross-sectional data for 1989-92 for Belize, a forested country currently experiencing rapid expansion of both subsistence and commercial agriculture. A geographic information system was used to manage the spatial data and extract variables based on the three kilometer sample grid. Three land uses were distinguished:"natural"vegetation, comprising forests, woodlands, wetlands, and savanna; semi-subsistence agriculture, comprising traditional milpa (slash-and-burn) cultivation and other nonmechanized cultivation of annual crops; and commercial agriculture, consisting mainly of sugarcane, pasture, citrus, and mechanized production of corn and kidney beans. Two dimensions of distance to market were distinguished: the distance from each sample point to the road, and on-road travel time to the nearest town. Data on a wide variety of land and soil characteristics were also used.Wetlands,Water Conservation,Environmental Economics&Policies,Climate Change,Land Use and Policies,Forestry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Climate Change,Energy and Environment,Wetlands