Deforestation, gender and family life strategies in the community of San Miguel Pomacuarán, Michoacán

In Pomacuarán, a P’urhépecha community in Michoacán, deforestation is associated with disorganized timber harvesting mainly started by men in the 80s in order to earn income and fulfil their role as household or domestic unit (DU) providers. The wood was sold in the regional market for fruit box, flooring and furniture purposes. Many times the income did not benefit the DU. This process explains the current conditions of the forestry resources. Women have been limited to the use of non-timber resources such as firewood, fungi, flowers, medicinal plants and water management, which are necessary to satisfy the material needs of the DU. Nowadays, forestry activities are less important than agriculture, livestock, and service activities in the family life strategies (FLE). This is due to the deforestation process, where wood forestry resources do not represent income and employment sources. The sexual division of work in the DU defines productive activities for men and reproductive activities for women. However, women in Pomacuarán participate in productive activities like agriculture, forestry restoration, services and employment. Forestry restoration does not offer tangible results in the short term for environmental conservation, employment and income, and the social pressure on forestry resources is continuous. In addition, forestry restoration should consider women interests such as forestry species for firewood and subsistence uses.