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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Ryan, Susan Eisenegaer, May 1986 - COOPS AND CANNERIES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENTIAL SUCCESS OF TWO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FOR MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN SOUTH CENTRAL FLORIDA
Abstract: This thesis is a discussion and analysis of two nutri- tion projects, a food buying cooperative and a canning club, designed for Mexican-American migrant farmworkers living in a community in South Central Florida. The goal of the cooperative was to encourage a group of farmworker families to organize into a buying unit in order to be able to purchase fresh produce through wholesalers in the produce market. The goal of the canning club was to encourage the development of a group of women that would learn to can fresh produce at the newly constructed Community Cannery. The thesis opens with a discussion of the nutritional problems particular to the Mexican-American farmworker. These problems are examined in light of the specific resources available to the community, resources that could potentially help alleviate some nutritional stress. Following this is a discussion of the specific geographic setting including both a physical description as well as a description of the organizations and structures influencing the duality of the farmworkers' lives. Specific attention is given to the attitudes of the local populace toward those farmworkers living in their midst. The body of the thesis is devoted to recounting of the process of data collection and actual organizing work. The final chapter is an analysis of the two projects. The first project, the organizing of a cooperative, did not materialize. The second project, the development of a group of women that would utilize the community cannery, had limited success. My analysis of the projects and the people involved centers around the understanding of farmworkers as an isolated group. In Mexico, they would be referred to as "sente marginada" (marginal people). This isolation leads to a powerlessness which leaves farmworkers dependent on a world over which they have little or no control. I specifically chose the Holmberg model to define the farmworkers as a peasant like population. This analysis is based on economic issues, health concerns and the fact that agricultural workers are not included in basic labor legislation covering other American workers. I conclude that farmworkers, as a marginalized peasant-like group, offer specific challenges to development workers.
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