Table Of ContentPRODUCING KNOWLEDGE,
PROTECTING FORESTS
RURAL ENCOUNTERS
WITH GENDER, ECOTOURISM,
AND
INTERNATIONAL AID
IN THE
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
l i g h t c a r r u yo
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PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE, PROTECTING FORESTS
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01.Carruyo 1/25/08 2:36 PM Page iii
PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE, PROTECTING FORESTS
RURAL ENCOUNTERS WITH GENDER, ECOTOURISM, AND
INTERNATIONAL AID IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Light Carruyo
the pennsylvania state university press
university park, pennsylvania
01.Carruyo 1/25/08 2:36 PM Page iv
library of congress
cataloging-in-publication data
Carruyo, Light.
Producing knowledge, protecting forests : rural encounters with gender,
ecotourism, and international aid in the Dominican Republic / Light Carruyo.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn978-0-271-03325-9 (cloth:alk. paper)
1. Human ecology—Dominican Republic.
2. Conservation ofnatural resources—Dominican Republic.
3. Dominican Republic—Rural conditions.
4. Globalization.
I. Title.
GF527.D65C37 2007
304.2097293—dc22
2007031283
Copyright © 2008
The Pennsylvania State University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 16802-1003
It is the policy of
The Pennsylvania State University Press
to use acid-free paper. This book is printed on Natures Natural, containing
50% post-consumer waste, and meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence ofPaper for Printed Library Material,
ansiZ39.48–1992.
Thephotographs in this book are
the author’s own.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1
Development and the Construction of the
Productive Peasant 17
2
Encounters:
Tourism, Conservation, and
Gendered Tourist Patronage in La Ciénaga 33
3
Disjunctures:
Why “Nothing Ever Comes to La Ciénaga” 59
4
Collisions:
Meaning, Mobility, and the Serious Woman 81
Epilogue 107
Appendix 113
References 115
Index 125
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book documents a small part of a lengthy and ongoing conversation
with a long list of friends, mentors, and colleagues—from Santa Barbara
to La Ciénaga—to whom and for whom I am deeply grateful.
Above all I wish to thank my family, especially my mom, Everis, and
Uniit—there are no words; you are the absolute best. In the Dominican
Republic, I wish to thank everyone at the Centro de Estudios de Género
(ceg) at InTec, who so warmly welcomed me, sharing office space,
insights, contacts, and the best potluck lunches ever! Thank you to Lucero
Quiroga, not only for introducing me to the folks at ceg, but for many
years offriendship—this book has benefited enormously from your insight
and from your logistical support while I was in the dr.Thank you to both
Denise Paiewonsky and Lourdes Contreras, the two directors during the
time of this research. So many scholars and intellectuals in the dr (or
close to the dr) took the time to talk through ideas with me and share
their unique expertise—I would like to thank Angel Pichardo, Diane
Rocheleau, Fatima Portorreal, Rayén Quiroga, Pedro Juan del Rosario,
Elueterio Martínez, Rhadames and Yolanda Lora, Moisés Mendez, Edgar
Cury, Arsenio Mera, Gail Mullen, Amy Shreck, Claudia Scholz, Ginetta
Candelario, Alicia Sangro, and Didiana Belliard. I am truly in debt to
Lilén Quiroga and Luís Toiraq, for without a long car trip and a lengthy
conversation about dolphins, spirits, and empowerment, this project
would not exist.
I was so fortunate to begin this work in the Department of Sociology
at the University of California, Santa Barbara, under the direction of
Kum-Kum Bhavanani and John Foran—my utmost respect and gratitude
to you both; I could not have wished for anything more. There are many
people to thank for many special reasons, above all, for so much rich and
unpretentious intellectual exchange and emotional support (many of you
have read and commented on the ideas presented here—you are not
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viii
acknowledgments
responsible for anything that you do not approve of within these pages):
Lorena Torres, Lorena García, Vivian Barrera, Darcie Vandegrift, Peter
Chua, Becky Overmyer-Velasquez, Elida Bautista, Helene Lee, Francesca
Degiuli, Karl Bryant, Dana Collins, Molly Talcott, Christopher McCauley
and Susana Peña (Susana, thanks for pushing me and for your excellent
pep talks). Thanks must go to Avery Gordon for her wisdom, way with
words, and great advice. Thanks to Jenny Sheffield and Barbara Harthorn
for their help securing funding for the first stages of this project. At Vassar
I have benefited from the support of a terrific group of people: Jennifer
Ma, Laura Yow, Yvette Louis, and Bill Hoynes all deserve very special
mention here, as does Katie Hite, who has been an exceptionally gener-
ousmentor and friend. Lisa Paravisini, Lisa Collins, Monique Segarra, Joe
Nevins, and Dan Rourke each very generously read and commented on
parts of this book. There have been many fruitful conversations with stu-
dents at Vassar—particularly, I’d like to acknowledge Túlio Zille, Juliana
Valente, andRicardo Sanchez for the final-hour birthday brainstorm, and
the students in my seminars Race, Nation, Gender in Latin America and
Women, Culture, and Development (2004–2006). You have been such a
joy to learnwith and know.
My gratitude also goes to Sandy Thatcher, Christine Bose, and a second
anonymous reviewer, who introduced me to the writings of some fan-
tastic historians—thank you all for your feedback and I hope you notice
its impact. Also thanks to Romaine Perin for her skillful copyediting and
to Kristin Peterson at Penn State Press. Above all, I thank the residents
of La Ciénaga and, especially, the women and men of Asociación Nueva
Esperanza, who welcomed me, put up with my snooping and tagging
along, forgave my slipups, and transformed my thinking. Thank you!
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INTRODUCTION
A1999 dark-green sports utility vehicle (jeepeta)with tinted windows slows
as it drives past. I am sitting on the ledge of Rita’s porch, writing in my
notebook, as I have done on many afternoons. Rita and her father are
listening to the radio novela, and Miriam, Rita’s eldest daughter, has just
finished cleaning the house and is now polishing her nails. Francia sits with
us while keeping an eye on the colmado (small general store) that she and
her husband run next door and breastfeeding her baby girl, the youngest of
five. A group of kids play ball in the dirt road in front of us; they attend
school in the morning and have the afternoon free. Their play is inter-
rupted by thedark-green jeepeta; a window comes down, and the driver, a
middle-aged Dominican man wearing designer sunglasses, mumbles some-
thing to one of the kids, nods, rolls up the window, and drives toward the
office of the park, located at the road’s end. The kids run after the jeepeta
for a few yards and then turn back to their game. Miriam blows on her
freshly polished red nails and asks if I would like to paint mine. I do.
We are located in a community called Boca de los Ríos, the last stop
before entering the national park—Parque Nacional José Armándo
Bermúdez. This is the end of the road; it is the beginning of a mountain
adventure for some, but for residents of La Ciénaga de Manabao it is a
strategic location. It is strategic precisely because it is the end (of the
winding mountain dirt road) and the beginning (of the park) and thus
places the residents squarely in the path of visitors. “If it weren’t for
tourism we’d be dying of hunger,” one man told me. Residents of Boca
de los Ríos have an advantage over other locals. Their location means more
access to tourism—obtaining jobs as guides, renting a bed or a room,
selling from their colmados, renting out a mule, or benefiting from the
“goodwill” of tourists. Boca de los Ríos is one of several communities,
calledparajes,or the smallest geopolitical administrative units, that make up
