Farming Systems and Socio-Cultural Determinants of Child Growth in Two Ecological Zones of Ecuador

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This project involves cultural and biological anthropologists studying the causes of growth variation in Ecuadorian children. Households in two communities, one a more traditional farming community in the highlands and the other a more cash-crop oriented community in the lowlands will be studied. Methods include participant observation, surveys, formal interviews, and periodic measures of growth, illness and activity in a sample of families. The hypothesis to be tested is that the traditional farming regime produces children who grow better than those in the more "modern", cash crop regime, by providing a broader assortment of foods and allowing mothers more autonomy and control over resources. This research is important because the issue of child health is critical in the developing world, and development programs stressing "modern" cash-crop agriculture may be damaging the overall health of the families by ignoring issues of diet and mother's access to resources. This project will provide a controlled comparison which will shed light on this issue.