Ra Ximhai (Sep 2012)
Firewood deficit in coffee communities of Chenalhó, Chiapas
Abstract
Firewood is the main energy source for many indigenous communities in Mexico. We studied the relationship between consumption and availability of firewood in a group of coffee producers and describe their strategies developed to meet the shortfall in supply of firewood in eight coffee communities of Chenalho, Chiapas. The analysis included participatory workshops, interviews, direct measurement of consumption, collection and botanical identification of plant material of species used for firewood. The consumption of firewood varied between 3.7 ± 1.5 to 3.9 ± 2.7 kg person -1 days-1. In general, families with more members optimize the use of fuel to reduce the rate of consumption per capita, families with 10 to 12 members take up to 55% less in relation to families of 2-4 people. The loss of original vegetation cover has resulted in a dearth of species traditionally used for firewood (eg., oaks) as now used species from agroforestry systems to meet the demand for firewood. Actions to reduce consumption are limited to keep the fire off when not in use in food preparation and use of devices to reduce the time of preparation of “tortillas”. Although some families have adopted theuse of saving stoves as a strategy to reduce consumption found not found significant differences (p> 0.05) in relation to consumption using the traditional stove (4.1 ± 1.7 vs. 3.7 ± 1.5 kg person-1 days-1, respectively). Although the coffeeplantations are ongoing source of supply of firewood, they do not meet the demands, so that some families must buy investing $1631 ± 1203 Mexican pesos yearly. It is envisaged that the firewood deficit will worsen in coming years giventhe increase in population density, the floristic impoverishment, continued deforestation and forest fragmentation. There is low potential for wood energy plantations in current areas of coffee production, while they do not outweigh the economic benefits obtained from the coffee.
