Place and Environment Commons^™

Tsaachin Reindeer Herders: Perceptions Vs Reality, Sharla Dart

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mongolia is a country commonly known for its vast steppes and rich culture of nomadic pastoralism. Images of livestock grazing on the open steppe often come to mind when people think about the country. However, what about the lesser-known reindeer herders? The Tsaachin reindeer herders of Mongolia are an ethnic group in the northernmost region of the country that have been subject to common misconceptions stemming from perceptions created by people consuming exaggerated and false narratives. This study aims to discover if perceptions that outsiders have influence the reindeer herders of the West Taiga.

“Hadithi Ya Matunda”: The Informal Fruit Economy On Unguja Island: A Study Of The Livelihoods Of Smallholder Producers, Intermediaries, And Sellers, Daisy Kettle

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the story of fruit on Unguja Island. It illuminates the livelihoods of farmers, intermediaries, and sellers and each of their roles in the island’s fruit commodity chain. Linkages between these actors are known to play increasingly important roles in agricultural economies across the world due to their ability to create “multiplier effects” through networks of non-farm income opportunities (Wineman, 2020). Through interviews with 19 Zanzibaris who work in this trade network, I learned about the intricacies of these networks. My data revealed that the fruit flow chain on Unguja creates a network of extensive backward and forward economic …

Aman Iman: Resilient Customs, Community Water Management, And Dry Futures In Anounizme, Morocco, Haley Kirtland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project explores how Anounizme, a village in southeastern Morocco, interacts with water. I was particularly curious about how traditional community management systems operate in the context of drought. I argue that the customary management system exhibits resiliency like it has in the face of Arabization, colonization, exploitative industry, and land privatization. It is capable of adapting to drought because it is more than a management system; it is a part of culture engrained as custom. Customs have porous boundaries, allowing a space for old aspects of culture to interact with both emerging aspects of culture and external pressures. I …

Monuments As A Lens To Understand Climate Change: A Survey Of Altered Indian Architecture, Mckenzie Davis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My project is asking in what ways climate change is impacting monuments in the developing world using case studies in India? The project will be a survey of sites occupying different positions in environment, religion, and history in order to assess the multitude of threats on cultural heritage created and/or exacerbated by climate change. The Taj Mahal (17th century) will be assessed in order to discuss the impacts of air pollution associated with an urban environ ment and drought along the Yamuna river, using a widely known icon of India to serve as a visualization of slow violence taking place …

The Relationship Between Humans And Nature In The Himalayas: A Collection Of Poems, Floyd Cornett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Throughout this research period I lived in the Gurung Village of Sikles in the Lower Annapurna Region of the Himalayan Mountain Range. Here, I grew in my understanding and learnings behind the village people’s relationship with nature, what shapes it, how it is changing, and general attitudes towards it. The Gurung community is traditionally of the Bon religion, but with the impacts of our ever-connecting world, many have also incorporated Buddhism and Hinduism into their beliefs and practices as well. Therefore, many of their traditions include pockets of animism and traditional worship of nature, but many villagers have slowly converted …

“Somos Un Pueblo Fumigado”: Un Análisis De La Lucha Contra La Fumigación Y Sistema De Agronegocios En La Provincia De Buenos Aires, Samuel Brooks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación estudia el movimiento contra el sistema de monocultivo de soja transgénica, la fumigación con “agrotóxicos,” y los grandes agronegocios en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Con la información de tres entrevistas y una visita a un encuentro de habitantes de pueblos fumigados, examino los diferentes “marcos” que el movimiento tiene para describir las formas en que ellos expresan el problema actual, las soluciones que proponen, sus métodos para motivar a la gente, y la perspectiva del movimiento en general. También, incorporo perspectivas académicas para profundizar el análisis de las diferentes áreas de discurso en el movimiento y definir …

La Ciencia Deshumanizada: La Relación Humano-Ambiental Entre El Cadic-Conicet Y La Antártida, Ariel Silverman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Las investigaciones científicas reconocen cada vez más que los humanos tienen una relación recíproca con la naturaleza, donde cambios rápidos en uno produce inestabilidad en el otro (Mace, 2014). Los humanos y la Antártida son particularmente interdependientes considerando la vulnerabilidad de los servicios ecosistémicos antárticos al cambio climático antropogénico. El Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC) en Ushuaia, Argentina, es una institución importante en la producción del conocimiento sobre el continente. Por lo tanto, cómo lxs científicxs del CADIC perciben la relación de los humanos con la Antártida pueden afectar la manera en que la Antártida es afectada, y, en …

La Capital Marica De Chile: Un Mapa Queer/Kuir/Marica De Valparaíso Y Una Investigación Sobre La Construcción Publica De Una Comunidad Visible En Valparaíso, Steven Powell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Valparaíso, Chile, there is a teeming queer presence in the streets and public spaces. Expressions of queerness can be seen in Plaza Anabel Pinto in the way in which people dress or style their hair, can be heard from the small plaza in front of the Severin Library with the voguing/kiki music blasting at nights, and is grafittied on the walls all around the city. This presence and visibility is met with violence and accompanied by precarious life situations. It was my goal through this investigation to explore this relationship between violence and visibility as it is contradicted and …

Step By Step: Understanding Perceptions Of Time And Space In Nepal, Lillian Norton-Brainerd

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Time and space are part of everyone’s daily life; however, these concepts are rarely explicitly discussed. Hegemonic interpretations of time and space are part of capitalist, colonialist structures, thus understanding alternative perceptions is important to resisting these structures. To understand perceptions of time in Nepal, I spent a month in Gre, a small village near Langtang National Park. I interviewed villagers and spent time observing how people spend their time, talk about time, and give directions to physical places. While there is not one perception of time and space, I learned how time and space influence each other. Geography and …

“La Ultra Periferia De Un País Periférico”: La Política Estratégica Litífera En Jujuy: Los Objetivos, Los Instrumentos, Y Los Desafíos / The Ultra Periphery Of A Periphery Country: The Strategic Policy Towards Lithium In Jujuy: The Objectives, The Instruments, And The Challenges, Max Kaye

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La transición energética hizo cobrar nueva importancia a los yacimientos metalíferos y no metalíferos y generó un nuevo patrón de demanda, especialmente para el caso del litio. Los actores importantes en la cadena de valor de las baterías de ion-litio intensificaron su control sobre cada etapa de sus negocios, y las políticas de los países abundantes en litio son cruciales para determinar cómo afecta a sus territorios esta carrera por el litio. Jujuy, una provincia que podría considerarse periférica de la Argentina, declaró el litio como un recurso estratégico en 2011. La provincia creó ciertos instrumentos para ejercer mayor control …

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

Héroes Anónimos: La Relación Entre La Gente Y Las Plantas Nativas En Río Grande, Argentina, Rachel Elliott

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio fue realizado para la Fundación Estepa Viva, Naturaleza y Ciudadanía con el fin de entender mejor cómo lxs residentes se relacionan con las plantas nativas y dónde ellas están ubicadas dentro de la ciudad de Río Grande, Argentina. Un total de 52 manzanas en 10 zonas de la ciudad fueron muestreadas en busca de 5 especies nativas clave: la lenga (Nothofagus pumilio), el ñire (Nothofagus antarctica), el guindo (Nothofagus betuloides), la mata negra (Chiliotrichum rosmarinifolium), and el calafate (Berberis microphylla). Además, se realizaron 50 entrevistas y se creó un mapa interactivo. Se observó que las plantas eran poco …

Restoring Dignity In The Gardens Of Ekhenana, Jordan Buser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study investigates the lived experiences of eKhenana, a shack settlement under the leadership of Abahlali baseMjondolo, as they attempt to navigate the increasingly unequal urban landscape. The research presented is focused on theories of urban marginality, food sovereignty, and dignity. I advocate that, in the margins, dignity can be restored through the implementation of a communal garden. Presented as a case study, this research centers the voices and experiences of the commune. The paper first depicts a brief timeline of eKhenana, and explains how they have created not just a place to live, but a community and a …

Earth Stories: A Narrative Understanding Of Farmlife In Pokhara, Nepal, Grace Holmes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Humans love to tell stories. The purpose of this Creative ISP is to collect stories, of the plants and of the earth, render them through quotations and summary, and then discuss and reflect on how these stories could describe the relationship between people and the land. I hope a narrative understanding of our dependence on agriculture can bridge the gap in modern society that separates us so fundamentally from the earth that we live on.

Sacred Scavengers: Vulture Conservation In Nepal, Hans Nedde

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the 1990s, a veterinary drug used to treat pain and disease in cattle nearly brought the nine vulture species of Nepal to extinction. In a span of 15 years, over 97% of vultures in Nepal perished. For the past 20 years, governments, organizations, and communities have been working together to save these vital scavengers from vanishing. From the lowlands to the Himalayas, vultures have been interacting with the environment and humans for millennia. This study explores the role that vultures play both ecologically and culturally in Nepal. It investigates vultures as a crucial ecological influence and how human action …

From Green To Gold: Community Along Lines Of Trade Between Dolpo And Mustang, Jack Cantor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mustang and Dolpo are at a tipping point of connectivity and community change as road development brings the districts closer to Nepal’s economic centers. In this independent study, I document contemporary trade relationships between Mustang’s Sangda and Dolpo’s Chharka, currently separated by three days of unmotorable trail. Through in person interview, archival research, and photography, I document methods of economy and community in three villages- Mustang’s Phelag and Sangda, and Dolpo’s Chharka. I focus upon future community prospects of Sangda and Chharka as road development between the two progresses.

As the two villages exchange goods, develop familiarity, and host traders …