Tejiendo sueños de mujeres y hombres campesinos: conocimiento, manejo, comercialización y roles de género alrededor de la palma soyate en Topiltepec Guerrero.

Abstract

In the state of Guerrero, non-timber forest resources play a very important role for rural communities. They use them mainly to meet their own consumption needs, as well as symbolic, spiritual, and economic needs. The Brahea dulcis (Kunth) Mart palm tree is one of the most important and emblematic useful resources in the Central and Mountain regions; however, its exploitation and use are gradually declining due to the replacement of natural resources with synthetic materials, such as polypropylene, but also due to the transformations of communities seeking more favorable lifestyles. For decades, the state of Guerrero has been plagued by waves of insecurity and violence that harm families, which is why they tend to migrate more frequently to places with greater economic and social stability. This brings with it social, cultural, and ecological disruption, as the link between communities and nature is lost. However, today there are still communities in the central region, around the city of Chilapa, that supplement their income by harvesting soyate palm trees. These communities have specialized in this activity, and some of them harvest velillas and produce ribbon for handicrafts. Others, who do not have palmares to harvest, are dedicated to transforming the ribbon into hats, tenates, petates, bags, figures for celebrations, etc. These handicrafts are concentrated in the Sunday market in Chilapa, from where they are distributed to different regions of the state, and are also sold to neighboring states or even exported to other countries.