Women care about local knowledge, experiences from ethnomycology

Abstract

Gender is one of the main variables that influence the distribution of local knowledge. We carried out a literature review concerning local mycological knowledge, paying special attention to data concerning women’s knowledge and comparative gender data. We found that unique features of local mycological knowledge allow people to successfully manage mushrooms. Women are involved in every stage of mushroom utilization from collection to processing and marketing. Local mycological knowledge includes the use mushrooms as food, medicine, and recreational objects as well as an aid to seasonal household economies. In many regions of the world, women are often the main mushroom collectors and possess a vast knowledge about mushroom taxonomy, biology, and ecology. Local experts play a vital role in the transmission of local mycological knowledge. Women participate in the diffusion of this knowledge as well as in its enrichment through innovation. Female mushroom collectors appreciate their mycological knowledge and pursue strategies and organization to reproduce it in their communities. Women mushroom gatherers are conscious of their knowledge, value its contribution in their subsistence systems, and proudly incorporate it in their cultural identity.

<i>Rhododendron</i> Uses and Distribution of this Knowledge within Ethnic Groups in Northwest Yunnan Province, China

“…Other gender-correlated knowledge distribution was found among the Bai (more females thought Rhododendron was important for tourism), the Lisu (more males knew about religion), and the Naxi (males knew about medicine, females knew sayings). This is in agreement with other studies [5] [38] that found patterns of knowledge distribution based on gender.…”

“…Based on the tallying method, more Han females knew about consuming rhododendron than Han males. Because food preparation is traditionally a woman's role [5], it is not surprising that we found that women hold rhododendron knowledge pertaining to these activities. Dulong and Naxi men knew more about using rhododendron for its woody parts compared to their female counterparts.…”

“…Younger Piaroa have frequent contact with those outside their village and are more likely to attend school, which correlates with lower levels of ethnobotanical knowledge [4]. Other research shows that indigenous people are facing reductions in ethnobotanical knowledge due to factors such as increased access to foreign goods, distance from towns, restrictions on harvesting, gender, and age [5]- [8]. In Yunnan Province, China, a cultural diversity and biodiversity hotspot [9], ethnobotanical knowledge is declining due to rapid social change and acculturation, which is also a major factor that affects conservation of botanical diversity [10].…”

Análisis Del Marco Regulatorio en El Aprovechamiento De Los Hongos Silvestres Comestibles en México

“…La recolección tiene un alto sentido familiar y comunitario (McLain & Jones, 2005;Villarreal-Ruiz & Castillo, 1996), cuya perspectiva de género no ha sido debidamente investigada, pues las mujeres poseen un vasto conocimiento sobre la taxonomía, biología y ecología local de los hongos (Garibay-Orijel, Ramírez-Terrazo, & Ordaz-Velázquez, 2012) y se encuentran involucradas en la recolección, procesamiento, particularmente, en la comercialización (Pérez-Moreno, Martínez-Reyes, Yescas-Pérez, Delgado-Alvarado, & Xoconostle-Cázares, 2008). Asimismo, son ellas las que fomentan el intercambio de información (Montoya et al, 2008) que se mantiene activo de manera vertical (de padres a hijos) y horizontal (entre gente de la misma generación) (Mariaca et al, 2001), conformando parte de su identidad cultural (Garibay-Orijel et al, 2012) y contribuyendo al mantenimiento de los conocimientos ancestrales (Pérez-Moreno et al, 2008). La recolección de hongos ha demostrado ser compatible con la conservación de los recursos naturales a largo plazo (Toledo, 1992), al lograr una producción continua de los bienes y servicios que el bosque proporciona (Villarreal-Ruiz & Pérez-Moreno, 1989), conformando así un componente ecológico.…”

“…Mushroom harvesting has a high family and community sense (McLain & Jones, 2005;Villarreal-Ruiz & Castillo, 1996), the gender aspect of which has not been duly researched, since women have a vast knowledge of the taxonomy, biology and local ecology of mushrooms (Garibay-Orijel, Ramírez-Terrazo, & Ordaz-Velázquez, 2012) and are involved in their gathering, processing and, particularly, marketing (Pérez-Moreno, Martínez-Reyes, Yescas-Pérez, Delgado-Alvarado, & Xoconostle-Cázares, 2008). They are also the ones that foster the exchange of information (Montoya et al, 2008) that is kept active vertically (from parents to children) and horizontally (among people of the same generation) (Mariaca et al, 2001), forming part of their cultural identity (Garibay-Orijel et al, 2012) and contributing to the maintenance of ancestral knowledge (Pérez-Moreno et al, 2008). Mushroom harvesting has proved to be compatible with long-term conservation of natural resources (Toledo, 1992) by achieving a continuous production of goods and services that the forest provides (Villarreal-Ruiz & Pérez-Moreno, 1989), thus forming an ecological component.…”