Cultivating Fruit: An Account of Applied Field Research in the Exuma Archipelago, The Bahamas

Abstract

A study on edible fruit production was conducted as one part of a larger multi-year applied research project exploring approaches to landscape architecture, ecology and design that conserve and celebrate traditions of resource management, economic development, governance, and socio-cultural issues of the Bahamian archipelago of Exuma, while proposing sustainable solutions for the future development of the islands. The project draws on a distinctive fieldwork process, designed for the project, which adapts anthropological and participatory methods to engage with local communities, government, educators, and the environment itself to inform design proposals and decision-making. Participation in the collection of data can mean that citizens educate themselves in the research topic, and get involved in what gets researched and how. This case study demonstrates the importance of careful, inclusive preliminary design and the ability of participatory processes to motivate and entice local communities to actively engage in the topic of examination. The findings should help prepare the ground for more intensive future food-related investigations there and elsewhere.

Keywords

Archipelago / Communication / Engagement / Fieldwork / Fruit Trees

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2017 Higher Education Press