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CORPORATE-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS IN AMAZONIAN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

By Carla Morsello

Over the last fifteen years, the commercialisation of rain forest products through 'fairly-traded' exchanges between corporations and indigenous groups has been promoted as a win-win approach to fostering environmental conservation and the improvement of local well-being. Initially made possible by a globalisation process that connected local communities with international corporations, the same process has recently expanded at regional levels. In fact, commercialisation of rain forest products has been at the centre of the policies of many public and private organisations dealing with indigenous affairs or environmental conservation in the South, giving rise to a burgeoning number of commercial agreements established independently by companies, or mediated by NGOs and the government.

Despite this, controversies about the efficacy of the approach still abound. Illustrated by the example of the trade partnership established between the A'Ukre Kayapó indigenous group and a UK-based cosmetics company, I argue that corporate-community partnerships are not a panacea, but market relations and the commercialisation of certain products can, in particular, offset negative outcomes. The study particularly aims to evaluate the effects that corporate-community partnerships have on social differentiation, subsistence and culture, and the conditions needed to avoid undesired outcomes.

The partnership
The Kayapó are a group of about 4.000 indigenous people living in south-eastern Brazilian Amazonia. A'Ukre, one amongst the 18 Kayapó villages, has established a trade agreement with a UK-based cosmetics' company in 1991. The company has adopted policies of social responsibility and has created a specific department to commercialise with socially and economically marginalised producers. The agreement with the Kayapó is based on Brazil-nut oil trading, purchased at a rate above market price and used to produce cosmetics.

Effects on social differentiation and inequality
One of the aims of establishing trade partnerships between companies and communities is to improve local well-being. Nonetheless, one major concern of both anthropologists and conservationists is that market introduction in indigenous societies can result in increased social differentiation by the unequal accumulation of wealth. The present study shows that, even under fair trade deals and indigenous control of the operation, markets are likely to produce some level of social differentiation. In this case, traditional social structures and local power relations influence how benefits are shared. For instance, usual trends include gender and seniority differentiation, with men and elders securing higher benefits. Moreover, even under ideal conditions, differentiation can occur at household level. Because of varied household composition and demography, households have different abilities to reorganise subsistence work in order to engage in market duties, therefore being able to secure unequal benefits. Usually, smaller households and those lacking male labour are more deprived of market benefits.

Conditions for avoiding social differentiation
Although some level of social differentiation may be produced the study shows that, under some conditions, fair trade deals can help to reduce inequalities at individual and household level caused by more skewed income sources present in the same locality. The conditions for ensuring that inequalities are avoided are:

• open access to all individuals;
• unlimited number of opportunities for people to get involved, typical of NTFP trading but unusual in wage-based jobs;
• reliance on traditional and/or widespread skills;
• dependence on traditional forms of natural resource use and therefore organised along customary and more egalitarian social structures.

Effects on subsistence and culture
The second major effect that can arise from setting up market activities in indigenous societies is the transformation in traditional forms of natural resource use. In turn, transformation is feared because of the major role it plays in the conservation of tropical forests, especially in relation to agriculture practices that are more directly linked to deforestation.

The study shows that even under fair trade schemes, markets may produce transformations in traditional subsistence practices and particularly swidden-agriculture. Even when the total effort is kept unchanged, delays in plot preparation can reduce agriculture productivity, especially in those small households that lack male labour. Markets can also increase agriculture reliance at the same time that the reliability of gathering forest products decreases, which leads to weakened social bonds due to the more collective method of gathering. These impacts are, however, reduced for groups at early stages of market integration that still have plenty of leisure and ritual time available, which can be redirected towards markets without jeopardising subsistence. However, the reduction implies certain consequences since many indigenous groups rely on plenty of non-work time to perform practices that maintain social bonds and culture. Finally, changes are not only brought about by trade-offs in the time budget, but also as a consequence of increased income levels that may allow indigenous groups to shift to market dependence in order to avoid the risks and drudgeries of subsistence work.

Conditions for avoiding transformations in subsistence and culture
To avoid transformations in subsistence practices and culture, new fair trade markets should:

• foster collective and traditional activities, such as the gathering of forest products, to help mitigate impacts, reinforce cultural practices and strengthen social bonds;
• avoid certain products or production levels that result in shifts in the preparation of agricultural plots;
• rely on economies that provide higher incomes per unit of production rather than increasing the scale of production;
• consider setting up maximum production levels to avoid causing shifts from subsistence reliance to market reliance and therefore a higher dependence on markets;
• consider setting up a portfolio of activities to improve benefits, instead of increasing production levels of a single product.

Conclusions
Fair trade activities are likely to cause some transformations, even if the organisation of the production and decision-making is left under the control of indigenous communities. However, some market arrangements may offset negative impacts mainly if they rely on traditional products and practices and avoid production levels that lead to complete market reliance. Considering that market integration is in many cases unavoidable because it derives from the own desire of indigenous groups, the study draws attention to the importance of careful planning and monitoring fair trade market activities in order to avoid undesired outcomes.

Further information:
Dr Carla Morsello
School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia and PROCAM - USP
R. Ministro Godoy 1353
CEP 05015.001 - São Paulo (SP)
Brazil
E-mail: morsello@uol.com.br

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