A love-hate relationship: An ethnographic study of migration with Lenca women in rural Honduras

ABSTRACT

Honduras is a Latin-American country composed of nine Indigenous groups whose communities have experienced rural-to-urban migration due to the lack of employment, access to services, and poor infrastructure. The Lenca are the largest Indigenous group in Honduras, and have experienced massive outmigration of men, leaving women in charge of agricultural production – traditionally a man’s duty. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of migration from the perspective of the Lenca women who are members of an agricultural cooperative. For this ethnographic study, a total of 46 members participated in a migration perception activity and semi-structured interviews. Overall, participants perceived migration as a dangerous phenomenon; however, they still believe that migrating out of their communities will help them to overcome poverty.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous
• migration
• Honduras
• women
• ethnography

Funding

This research was self-funded.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Association of Indigenous Women in Intibucá for supporting the research presented in this article.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Texas Data Repository https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/0XMUWN.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo

Pablo Lamiño-Jaramillo is a doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University. He got a B.Sc. in Environment and Development Engineering at Escuela AgrícolaPanamericana, El Zamorano and M.Sc in Agricultural Education at Texas Tech University. His research area focuses on food security, Indigenous groups, youth, and migration.

Amy E Boren-Alpizar

Amy E. Boren-Alpizar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications, and a rural community development specialist in the International Center for Food Industry Excellence (ICFIE) at Texas Tech University. Her research agenda focuses on the contributions of rural youth and women to community development in Latin America. She holds a B.A. in French and Spanish from Nebraska Wesleyan University, a M.Sc. in Leadership Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a Ph.D. in Human Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Sarahi Morales

Sarahí Morales is an Associate Professor and Department Head of General Curriculum at Escuela AgrícolaPanamericana El Zamorano. Her research agenda focuses on the assessment of intervention program effectiveness, agricultural extension, and leadership in agriculture. She holds a B.Sc. in Food Science from Escuela AgrícolaPanamericana, Zamorano, a M.Sc. in Agricultural Education from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Education and Communications and from Texas Tech University.

Scott Burris

Scott Burris is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University. He has worked closely with the teacher preparation program, teaching undergraduate courses and supervising student teachers. His research focus is on teaching and learning, specifically in delivery methods of instruction and in teacher development. He earned his B.Sc. in Interdisciplinary Agriculture from Texas Tech University and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Education from the University of Missouri.

Carlos Carpio

Carlos Carpio is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Texas Tech University. He holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Escuela AgrícolaPanamericana El Zamorano, a M.Sc. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Texas Tech University and aPh.D. in Economics from North Carolina State University. Dr. Carpio conducts research primarily related to consumer demand, non-market valuation and applied econometrics.