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Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0001-8276-4095

AccessType

Open Access Dissertation

Document Type

dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Program

Anthropology

Year Degree Awarded

2022

Month Degree Awarded

February

First Advisor

Krista Harper

Second Advisor

Whitney Battle-Baptiste

Third Advisor

Mwangi wa Gĩthĩnji

Subject Categories

Anthropology | Environmental Studies | Food Studies | Human Geography

Abstract

My dissertation, “Reclaiming the future through Small-Scale Agriculture: Autonomy and Sustainability in the Caribbean,” is a political-economic analysis of land politics, foodscapes and foodsheds, and small-scale agricultural activities in plantation economies on the Caribbean island of St Kitts. Using ethnographic and geographic methods, such as participant observation, interviews, social network analysis, and foodshed mapping, I investigate the cultural and economic niche of local farmers, documented and analyzed the island’s foodshed, and provide a historical and economic background of St Kitts to link historical processes to contemporary spatial organization and agricultural practices. I consider the complexities of food inequalities and food sovereignty as farming and food production is and has been both a tool of oppression and one of individual and community empowerment for BIPOC communities. The findings contribute to discussions on economic anthropology, autonomy, food insecurity, land and labor politics, and globalization. This project has an applied contribution as it highlights means of navigating food insecurity, improving economic and agricultural policies, and promoting environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/27000832

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