Charcoal producers in the area of San José del Boquerón (Santiago del Estero, Argentina).

Exploratory study of their life and reproduction strategies

Abstract

In this paper I give a qualitative account of the place of charcoal production in the life and reproduction strategies of the subjects who engage in this trade in the area of San José del Boquerón, in the north of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. Charcoal there is invariably produced on a small scale within the framework of multiple systems, in combination with other on- and off-farm activities. However, charcoal production as such does not define a homogeneous economic subject, and its functional value depends on the system within which it is carried out. The product is marketed through local traders; in this first link of the value chain, we don’t find an asymmetric power relationship placing the producers in a situation of dependency, but rather a competitive market, albeit outside the law. The sustainability of the charcoal burners' economy depends on the ways in which they manage the limits of the natural systems in which they work, i. e. on the forest management they carry out, of which I offer a preliminary characterization here. A critical aspect of charcoal production is its impact on workers' health, which they themselves recognize, and therefore on their work trajectories; I discuss here how they try to manage that risk, mainly by limiting work to a certain period of life. This exploratory work is based on extensive fieldwork carried out in 2019.

ARK CAICYT: https://id.caicyt.gov.ar/ark:/s16688090/elz38og8h