13 - The Contemporary Role of Women in Lowland Maya Livestock Production

Abstract

This chapter discusses the contemporary role of women in Lowland Maya livestock production. The Maya woman's animals provide her with a resource that is hers to deploy, giving her a measure of independence and providing security in the face of sudden calamity. Money from sale of livestock, meat, or eggs provides the Maya woman with an income to buy other household necessities or luxury items that confer personal and public status. Women use pig sales to make long-term investments in the form of luxury status items for themselves and their children; gold teeth, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets are common purchases of this kind. Their trips across the border to buy these prestigious items and to visit relatives are funded by pig sales. Lowland Maya women raise a variety of animals in their backyards—most commonly pigs, turkeys, chickens, and ducks. It appears that Maya women are maximizing their productive activity by producing livestock because it represents the highest return for the inputs involved. Women are quick to exploit new economic opportunities. The cane bonanza in northern Belize has bought those women able to take advantage of it both the time and money to invest in other activities. Some have started small grocery stores while others operate soft-drink businesses or are in the liquor trade. A few women are cane farmers, using the money from cane to open bank accounts in town.