Orlando Sanabria
June 15, 2009
Paper report: The role of women in the conservation of the genetic resources of maize
Guatemala has the highest level of plant genetics diversities in the worlds. Its lands are divided into wellbalanced levels of altitude, humidity, and topology. Various studies have been conducted on the origins of
maize. Most of these studies have concluded that it came from “teosintle” (the ancestor of maize.) Before
maize, Mayans source of food came from roots of plants. Various fables tell the story of how maize came
to be part of Mayan culture. One of these fables tells the stories of a cat, which was able to speak, the
people ask the cat to lead them to the source of maize, which was also believe to be the place the mother
maize lived.
Women in Mayan culture do not receive the same credit as men do in the growing of crops and working the
land. This is not so different from many other cultures as well. Women play a very important part of
conserving the genetic of maize. They are rich in knowledge when it comes to maize. One big role women
have in maize growing is the selection of grain use for sow. As the man, the women can do the many things
man does; however they are not taken serious and little or no credit is given to them. The primary role is to
be “housewives” this includes 15 hours of work per day doing: preparation of three meals, gathering wood,
milling maize by hand, or taking it to the mill, cleaning the house, care and feeding of domestic animals,
washing clothes in local rivers, mending or making clothes for the family, helping in farming tasks, making
craft objects for sale, bringing up the children, fetching water, migrating to the coast for the coffee or sugarcane harvest.
Women in Guatemala do not own many lands in comparison to the man. Only 10% own land, by
inheritance or widowhood. 88% of these women indicated that there are no possibilities to acquire more
land due to credit limitations and Guatemalan policies.
The green revolution is something that has affected the traditions of maize growth in Mayan culture by
market driven for export and sale, rather than for self-consumption. New machinery, fertilizers, new
roadway and irrigation infrastructure are changing and damaging the way maize is produce.
I think is really typical for the “civilized society” to come in and break a tradition that has been done right
for hundreds of years. As always we come in and look for ways to profit rather than to live sustainable. Our
ancestors did it right, and they survived thousands of years. We the current advance society, have created
machinery, equipment, product to make our life easier, to live more comfortable, but a what price? It’s very
sad and disappointing to see how many of us let the greed takes control over them. However, this is not
new, and it has been done before by our past civilizations.
In application to E/ME105, further studies can be done to focus on the culture understanding of women role
in the Mayan region of Guatemala.