The Use of Hemiepiphytes as Craft Fibres by Indigenous Communities in the Colombian Amazon

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2956595
AutoresMaria Paula Balcázar Vargas (0000-0002-6244-3785, National Health Care Institute), Tinde R Van Andel (0000-0002-4951-1894), Tinde Van Andel
Ano2005
Volume3
Páginas243
Data de publicação2005-12-31
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEthnobotany Research and Applications (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1547-3465 • E-ISSN: 1547-3465
EditoraIlia State University (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.17348/era.3.0.243-260
OpenAlexW185429661
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas8

Aerial roots of hemiepiphytes are used throughout the Amazon Basin for house construction, basketry, traps and furniture. Here we describe how 15 species of hemiepiphytes are extracted by six indigenous groups in the Colombian Amazon for traditional artefacts, commercial crafts and as raw material for the furniture industry. Indigenous classification systems, use preferences, and the influence of the craft trade on indigenous livelihoods are discussed. The craft trade seems to improve the living conditions of local communities by making them less dependent from local guerrilla and coca production. However, we seriously question the sustainability of current fibre extraction. Designing adequate management plans for commercial hemiepiphytes is essential to guarantee the future supply of these valuable non-timber forest products

Agriculture · Agroforestry · Amazon basin · Amazon rainforest · Archaeology · Business · Citizen journalism · Craft · Geography · Indigenous · Livelihood · Political science · Sustainability · Environmental Science · Fern and Epiphyte Biology · Plant Diversity and Evolution · Ecology