By Jim Penn

Purpose and concept of this work
This page describes some of the more useful and common plants that are found in the swidden-fallow agroforestry systems of the Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo region of Peru. The information about these species is by no means complete, as further investigation would undoubtedly uncover many more uses and cultivation methods than are described here. Several issues are presented below in order to improve the readers’ understanding of this section.

There are a number of publications that describe the ethnobotany of medicinal plants in the upper Amazon. Richard Evans Schultes was a pioneer in this field. Schultes' brilliant works, including Schultes and Raffauf's "The Healing Forest: Medicinal and toxic plants of the northwest Amazon", continue to be major sources of information and inspiration for recent publications. Schultes himself was concerned about the conservation of ethnobotany, and the pressures that led to the disappearance of the rainforest and its plant life. Rather than focus on the uses of these plants by societies in the past, I have chosen to address their current uses and importance to the rural and urban people of northeastern Peru. Some elderly villagers say that "every plant has medicine". Cultural and demographic changes continue to threaten the conservation of this ethnobotany. At the same time, current uses of these plants have created new demands on these species both in the wild and in agricultural settings. It must be remembered that ethnobotany concerns far more just the so-called "medicinal plants", but plant cultivation techniques and strategies, foods, fibers, building materials and much, much more.

Ethnicity and Ethnobotany
The cultivation methods and uses of the plants in this section are commonly employed by the rural people of the region that anthropologists refer to as "ribereños". Ribereños are a detribalized rural folk of native and mestizo origin that practice fishing, agriculture, forest extraction, and hunting in the Peruvian Amazon (see Chibnik 1991). Researchers have often pointed to the Cocama-Cocamilla origins of many of these people, but ribereños have diverse origins and it is not advisable to make generalizations about their ethnicity. Unfortunately, discrimination and repression have caused many of the people to ignore or deny their true ethnicity. Urbanization, especially the migration of young people from rural to urban areas, makes it increasingly difficult for families to preserve their understanding of these natural resources.

Ribereños, like Amazonian Indians, have great knowledge of forest plants and agricultural techniques. Besides agricultural lands, the forests themselves reflect the ethnicity of the people because of the way they select and utilize wild species. There is also a plethora of specific methods that must be followed for harvesting plant material used for medicinal purposes. Lunar cycles are an important consideration in this process and in the cultivation and harvesting of crops.

It must be remembered that urban dwellers in the cities of Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas may also rely heavily on plant material for their health care needs. Both urban and rural people in the region have strong beliefs about when or how plants should be used in treatments. "Dieting" or abstaining from certain foods and activities is an important part of the process. Avoiding fat, spices, heat, cold, and sexual activity during treatments are just a few examples of this. People will often combine traditional plant remedies with modern medicines purchased in stores or pharmacies. Religious elements are also integrated into these treatments.

Gender
There is folklore that pertains specifically to men about the cultivation or use of these plants, but gender-specific beliefs seem most often to apply to women. Women may avoid entering gardens during menstruation or pregnancy. Certain types of harvests are usually not to be done by women or young girls (such as climbing fruit trees). Even in urban areas, many women will avoid watering plants during menstruation. The female reproductive cycle has a strong influence on the use of plants by women.

In this region of Peru, "bad hand" usually refers to a person who is unable to salt or prepare meat or fish without it spoiling on them. However, cases of bad hand also exist that apply to agriculture, where a person cannot touch planting stock and can never plant anything. Men seem to have this condition most often. More research is needed to improve understanding of gender issues in plant use and cultivation.

Agroforestry considerations
There is considerable variation in the swidden-fallow agroforestry systems of the region, but field sizes tend to be around one hectare or less. Spacing of components and species associations can vary greatly, depending on environmental conditions and the skill of the farmers. Homegardens can also vary greatly in their species composition. Despite the diversity of these agroforestry systems, the people tend to be specialists, and will concentrate their efforts of one or just a few crops. Market considerations are a prime reason for this. The availability of seeds is another.

A family’s subsistence needs will strongly influence their land use decisions. Family size, health, their ability to work with other families, labor and capital requirements are additional factors that will influence land use decisions. Crop theft has become a serious problem in some areas. This has altered the decision-making process for many farmers, who no longer plant crops such as bananas or avocados due to theft. Soils are usually acidic, even on the floodplain. However, beaches or mudflats left by seasonal floods and darker restinga soils can have a pH of 6 or higher. See Denevan (1984), Hiraoka (1986), Denevan and Padoch (1988), Coomes (1995), de Jong (1996), Paitán (1997), Coomes and Burt (1997), Paitán and Kalliola (1998), and Wiener (2001) for more information on land use in the region.

Tree protection versus deliberate planting
Many crops, especially palms, timber and floodplain trees exist in fields because they have regenerated there, rather than having been deliberately planted. Seed dispersion by animals and people can strongly influence the species composition of fields and homegardens. When healthy specimens grow up in a favorable spot, they are then protected and cared for by the people. Thus, what may be a "weed" to some people is protected and cultivated by others. Trees, for example, can vary greatly in local value, depending on their abundance. Very useful species of Vismia, Miconia, and Ochroma may regenerate quickly and be vigorously weeded out from fields in some areas, while being protected and even planted in other areas where scarce.

Pests, diseases and markets

Insect and animal pests can present major problems for farmers. Great losses occur due to leaf cutter ants and wild animals. Hypsipyla larvae cause major damage to timber (especially Swietenia and Cedrela) growing in agricultural settings and even in disturbed forests. Palms, fruit trees, and other crops such as bananas commonly suffer from both pests and diseases. Despite the rarity of large plantations in northeastern Peru, these maladies are more common than one may assume in this heavily forested region.

As with extracted resources, the marketing of agroforestry products presents challenges for producers. Problems of access to transport and markets, poor and costly transport services, and aggressive intermediaries are common. Spoilage and losses of perishable products are high. Laws prevent farmers from selling timber they raise directly to saw mills. Markets themselves can be unstable and unpredictable.