Open Knowledge (FSC OK)

This report is the second of ten case studies produced as part of a community forestry project in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru. The study chronicles work undertaken with indigenous Miskitu communities in the Kruta-Caratasca basin, at the extreme eastern tip of Honduras, to manage and market batana oil, a non-timber forest product that is harvested from the American palm. This case study chronicles work undertaken with indigenous Miskitu communities in the Kruta-Caratasca basin, at the extreme eastern tip of Honduras, to manage and market batana oil, an NTFP that is harvested from the American palm (Elaeis oleifera) and used in the manufacture of hair care products. Working in close partnership with local Honduran NGO MOPAWI�which has been supporting Miskitu groups for more than 25 years�the Rainforest Alliance provided technical assistance to more than 2,000 producers in 40 communities over a period of four years. Among the considerable achievements that have resulted from this assistance are the certification of more than 55,000 hectares of forestland to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards and the establishment of a multi-community enterprise, called Moskibatana, to improve and facilitate the production, processing and marketing of batana oil by its members. The core finding of this case study is that indigenous Miskitu world view (�cosmo-visi�n� in Spanish) is not incompatible with enterprise development that is based on natural resource management. Processes that were undertaken to achieve FSC certification were driven by market logic and led to the mapping, documenting and, ultimately, legitimizing of indigenous management practices. Moreover, the founding of a local NTFP enterprise among Miskitu communities, which was also driven by a desire to develop local business capacities, demonstrates the ability to merge new business models with traditional institutions. As such, these efforts stand as an important model for other groups as land titling unfolds across the Muskitia. Furthermore, these findings have global relevance given the increasing number of indigenous groups in the tropics that are gaining control over ancestral lands that comprise resources suitable for enterprise development.