The Rubber Cultivation of the Akha People as a Cultural Practice

Abstract

In the development of the rubber economy in Xishuangbanna over the past half century, the rubber industry of the ethnic minorities represented by the Akha people has failed to achieve the goal of scientific and intensive development due to its extensive (rather than intensive) style of crop management. Why has it been difficult for the Akha to change from extensive to intensive cultivation? Why has it been so hard to apply and spread advanced rubber cultivation technologies? Based on an empirical study of how rubber is cultivated by the Akha of Zhasongban village, this author has come to the conclusion that the unique rubber farming practice of the Akha has actually resulted from the structure of their cultural logic: The “extensive style of management” of the Akha is in fact the application of slash-and-burn farming, which is their traditional strategy of making a living, and which is built on the logic of “comprehensive rationalism” formed by balancing the natural environment with the social-cultural system. Modern rubber cultivation technology takes profit maximization as the aim of production, causing the alienation of production from human life. Meanwhile, the Akha way of rubber cultivation has led to the rise of such new activities as “patrolling the mountains” and “picnicking,” which are derived from the practice of their traditional customs, and which represent their efforts to restore a humanistic way of rubber production through resisting modern technologies. Although rubber production is a way for the Akha to obtain wealth, the ultimate aim of their production is to satisfy their needs in diverse aspects of life.