Ojala que llueva algo en el campo: unanticipated influences and development

The globalisation of agriculture continues to have a profound influence on ecosystems and subsistence based livelihoods throughout Latin America. In addition to contributing to the decline of the last remaining stands of forest in the Dominican Republic, changing agricultural practices also affect traditional gender roles and household nutritional status. Drawing on the experiences, observations, and data collected by the researcher between 1991 and 1995 in a rural Dominican community, this paper explores the links between gender, food security, the environment, and community based reforestation projects. This paper suggests that participatory approaches and gender analysis are necessary, but alone do not assure the success of small-scale forestry projects given the current political ecology of the Dominican Republic.