Logics of Family Orchard, Management in the Context of the Modernizing Impact in Tabasco, Mexico

The floristic composition and production management of home gardens have been extensively studied mainly with the methods of the natural sciences. However, a greater understanding of the role of the management logics of these agroecosystems in promoting their permanence is still required to this day. The purpose of this research was to explore this aspect in a rural community of Tabasco, Mexico, in the context of the modernizing impact during the last forty years. A qualitative study was conducted, with inventories and botanical collections in the orchards to understand their operation. The results show that there have been changes in the family garden and a process of social differentiation of peasant households. We found that the garden is an essentially feminine space, and that diversified management, full use and self-supply are the bases of a peasant logic aimed at the autonomy of individuals, families and communities, which contrasts with the dominant modernization paradigm. We discuss the locally constructed meanings of the garden and its relation to internal aspects of the individuals, as well as the themes of international migration and gender equality, which are especially relevant today.