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Paper short abstract:

A comparative case study of the introduction of "fair trade" and "organic" honey production in South-east Mexico and requirements for product standardisation and cooperative organisation, explains success and failure in terms of respect for Mayan social dynamics and cultural history

Paper long abstract:

Through a comparative analysis of the results of two case studies of the introduction of "fair trade" and "organic" honey production in the State of Campeche in South-east Mexico, by taking into account particular contexts and particular histories we seek "more nuanced analyses of the conflicting rationalities" (Brownill & Parker, 2010) arising from the encounter of different actors and knowledges in these new forms of productive relations introduced in the State in the 1990's. Comparing the 20 year history of NGO propelled cooperatives in the south of Campeche with that of a family enterprise with community participation in the north of the state, we consider how both confronted the demands for quality control in terms of the standardisation of procedures and products, how both resulted in the uneven social acquisition of not only economic but also cultural and social capital and the reasons why the former initiatives collapsed and led to social divisions whilst the latter is achieving its goal of social and environmental regeneration, albeit slowly. Extending Wynne's distinction between the scientific rational with its commitment to standardisation and differentiation, control and prediction and an indigenous knowledge system embedded in "a flexible, adaptive culture which does not lend itself to standardisation or planning" (Wynne, 1996), we consider the particular cultural values and other characteristics of the northern endogenous project which underpin its successes in comparison to the difficulties faced by the NGO mediated cooperatives in the south which ignored Mayan social dynamics and cultural history.