Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1992

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Geography

Major Professor

Lydia Pulsipher

Committee Members

Carol Harden, Sally Horn

Abstract

This research examined the relative importance of kitchen gardens to gardeners, their families, and to the larger society in Montserrat, British West Indies. Specific questions asked were: what is the spatial distribution of kitchen gardens; who are the gardeners; what is the relative environmental and social sustainability of the garden system; how does the present status of gardening compare to its historical past; and how might gardens fit into the island's future? The study was couched within the contexts of a changing economy, and a natural disaster. Hurricane Hugo. A study transect spanning all inhabited ecological zones of the island was chosen, and data were collected from forty gardeners. Fifteen gardens and gardeners were studied in depth. Agricultural officials, other Montserrat government officials, and census data were also consulted. Gardens were found to be distributed unevenly throughout the island. In drier regions of the island animal husbandry tends to replace the growing of kitchen gardens. Overall, it is estimated that thirty nine percent of island households maintain kitchen gardens with the average of 648 m2. Gardeners were found to be primarily older, traditional members of society. Gardens' physical structure was found to be akin to the tropical mixed garden type, with trees, other perennials, annuals, and tubers arranged in a more or less multi-storied arrangement. The primary function of gardens was subsistence, but they also performed many other roles. For example: they played prominent roles in exchange, gift giving and social networking, employment substitution, group cohesion of outmigrants, improvements in public sanitation, and maintenance of cultural heritage. Within the context of the disaster of Hurricane Hugo, gardens were found to figure significantly in providing disaster food, in exhibiting rapid recovery time compared to that of the rest of island agroecosystems, and in boosting moral in the face of chaos. Based on known histories of individual gardens, ecological functioning, and analysis of individual soil samples, gardens were found to be sustainable and highly productive agroecosystems. Island-wide, the total area of gardens was found to be equivalent to between twenty three (if the median garden size is calculated) and thirty two percent (if the average size is calculated) of the area of all agricultural land. In sum, gardens were shown, over time, and in the face of general agricultural decline, not only to persist, but to provide many tangible as well as intangible benefits for both individuals and Montserrat society. The suggestion is made that kitchen gardens are an integral part of the social fabric of Montserrat, and that they should be further considered by the Ministry of Agriculture in future agricultural planning.

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