🎓Livelihoods in Transition: Indigenous Practices and Market Adjustments in Southern Guyana during a Global Pandemic (Working Title)

Indigenous peoples around the world are affected by continuous economic change in rural areas. At a fundamental level, the integration of market-based activities into traditional lifestyles has had a profound impact on their culture, environment and livelihoods. PhD student Andrew Boogaards has been working with indigenous communities in southern Guyana to examine the various livelihood strategies that local indigenous peoples are adopting to reconcile their traditional practices with market economy activities, particularly during a global pandemic. In his study, he will examine how the protective measures to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 in the region have affected the economic relationship between local residents and gold miners and whether a disruption in this relationship has resulted in local residents moving away from market economy activities and towards traditional subsistence activities.