Local ecological knowledge (LEK) offers a broad range of information that conservationists, development practitioners, non-governmental organizations, and researchers value greatly. However, LEK has an intrinsic value to its holders; it represents their capacity to adapt and survive in remote areas, while anchoring their cultural continuity within a specific ecological region. The authors set out to describe in this essay the ethnobotanical knowledge of sarrapia (Dipteryx odorata [Aubl.] Willd.) or tonka bean among the inhabitants of three non-indigenous communities of the Lower Caura River Basin, southern Venezuela. The results of this study suggest that there is a strong association between the livelihood of the Caura's residents and the consecutive annual cycle of this species. This association is demonstrated by how the locals: 1. make interconnections between the biological cycle of sarrapia and climatic and ecological variables; 2. discriminate between wild and cultivated sarrapia tree stands; 3. provide accurate estimates on the total production of sarrapia beans per tree stand every year; 4. implement the appropriate skills throughout the delicate process of extracting and treating the beans; and 5. regulate the access and usufruct rights to the wild and cultivated sarrapia trees.
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1 March 2011
Ethnobotanical Knowledge of Sarrapia (Dipteryx odorata [AUBL.] WILLD.) Among Three Non-Indigenous Communities of the Lower Caura River Basin, Venezuela
Berta E. Pérez,
Tamia Souto
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Journal of Ethnobiology
Vol. 31 • No. 1
Spring/Summer 2011
Vol. 31 • No. 1
Spring/Summer 2011
Caura River
Dipteryx odorata
Ethnobotanical knowledge
non-indigenous