Perceived Worlds of the Colonists of Tropical Rainforest, Colombia Author(s): Janet G.

Townsend Source: Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 2, No. 4 (1977), pp. 430-458 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/622299 Accessed: 07/09/2009 15:51
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Perceived

worlds

of

the

rainforest,

colonists Colombia

of

tropical

JANET G. TOWNSEND
Lecturerin Geography, University of Durham

RevisedMS received22 DecemberI975

perceived worlds of colonists in five areasof tropical rainforest.The applicationof repertorygrids in cross-culturalsituations appears to be new and the methodology is briefly described. The results illuminate many aspects of the colonists' decisionmaking environmentthrough the varyingrelations of standardconstructs and elements, portrayedstatistically and diagrammatically. It is argued that the colonists' perceptions are much akin to those of the agriculturalextension officers who work with them, and that the colonists' behaviouris not 'traditionaland irrational'but sharply governed by immediate economic constraints.Colonists and officialsalike rankthe skilled managementof farms far above physical endowment in farm success; and both regard cattle-raising as the ideal land use, conditioned by considerationsof credit and transport. Principal Component Analysis of the grids shows a salience of constructs related to management and investment, followed by physical endowment and accessibility, on the total of 80 grids from colonists. Regional breakdown yielded only small variation. It is suggested that the development agencies should concentrate their efforts on the constructive aspects of the colonists' thinking rather than medicating the symptoms of failure.

Field research in Colombia in 1974 employed repertory-grid interview techniques in the investigation of the ABSTRACT.

'THIS

voked and damage caused to coming generations .... The colonosl ... lack that which is essential

undera is a graveerror,to displacein desperation populationexcess which is culturally towardsregionswhere,throughignorance,the vegetationis destroyed,erosionprodeveloped

and indispensablefor the success of a colonization:individualinitiativeand fighting spirit.' Thus wrote a distinguishedColombiangeographer (Guhl, 1968, 1974). Yet for decades,geolowlandsof LatinAmerica, of the havebeen advocating colonization the humidtropical graphers
except for a few great dissidents such as Humboldt (1818-29) and Bowman (1916). Such coloni-

zationhas been accelerating throughthis centurywith the 'hygienicrevolution',the declineof of civil strife (Crist and Guhl, I957), and above all with increasedroad penetration 'frontier' much of the AmazonBasin(e.g. Nelson, regionssuch as is currentlydevelopingor threatening Andeanareas1948-57(Guzman the 1972). In Colombia intenseruralviolencein the long-settled numbersof fugitivesfrom the high and the dry lands of the et al., 1962) displacedsubstantial Andes to the 'empty'easternlowlands;furtherwaves of movementhave been encouraged by of spending.There is effectivepoliticalpressurein favourof colonization the raingovernment forest manifestin infrastructure althoughthe actual migrationis largely sponprogrammes, is even a substantial WorldBankprogramme. taneous.In the Florenciaregionthere Yet, while no seriousreportson the colonizathan those of Professor otherreportsareless sweeping Guhl, the tion processin Colombia Everywhere worstfeaturesof socio-economic todayarefavourable. in structures the long-settledAndeanregions,such as the latifundia-minifundia syndrome,are is logicaldegradation the rule (Tosi and Voertman,I964). It of There is a clamantneed for a betterunderstanding the colonos. is unlikelyin the extremethat the colonizationprocesswill be halted; alreadyINCORA, the nationalland reform
430 but transferred to the lowlands (I.B.R.D.,
1972;

INCORA-IICA, I974; CID, I974)2 and eco-

Perceived worlds of colonists

43I

extensionin these areas-but at presentthis is an expensive agency,is undertaking agricultural when inputs are weighed againstachievements, luxury possibly becauseit sees and describes the weaknesses the colonos. of There is evidencethat it is the older,less innovativemigrants only who go to the frontierof settlementratherthanto the city (Flinn and Cartano,1970) and that it is the less educatedpeople of lower economiccapacitywho choosecolonization ratherthan the those who do go to the frontierare not competitiveurbanlabourmarket(Ruiz, I972). Certainly confidentof their ability to 'play the system'; possiblythey wish to escapeit, but throughthe needforcreditthe 'system'followsthem.Yet how canthe colono judged? INCORA be overriding wishes him to win for himself an adequateand stable farm from the forests,but there is very little real economicopportunity him to do so; these areclassic,exploitedsatellite-regions for of interior colonialism(Havens and Flinn, I970) where the averagecolonohas a permanently with the sourcesof wealthand power(e.g. Griffin,1969, on the Caja asymmetrical relationship If Agraria). INCORA (I974) wishes indeed 'to plant colonization carefullywithin the development strategyof Colombian it agriculture' will not serve merelyto identifythe problemswhich surroundthe colono as a lay figure: INCORA must also identify the positiveaspectsof colono life and culturewhich it could profitably support. The image of the typical colono,however, is still that of the ignoranthighlandpeasant abruptlyfaced with the tropicalrainforest(PerezArbelaez,I948). This image continuesto be receivedopinion among nationaldecision-makers, althoughit is not the publishedopinion of INCORA (i974) or of much academicwritingin this field (Feder, I973-4; Griffin,1974). The commentof the decision-makers that the writtenworklacksfield substantiais typicalunofficial tion.
BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH

In I967-68 a project involving some 200 unstructuredinterviewsin the middle Magdalena werevery highly awareof their real-world situation valleyled to the conclusionthat the colonos and well able to communicatetheir perceptions(Townsend, unpubl. research).INCORA, interviewswere not acceptableevidence.Ruralviolence and however,held that unstructured fear among the colonosat that time were such that the unstructured interviewwas the only in possibletechniquein the region.Even in otherregions,however,thereare severerestrictions the utility of structuredinterviewsor questionnaire in cross-cultural and surveys situations, observation technicallydifficultin thinly populatedareas.It appearsvery taxing is participant to investigatethe perceivedworldof the Colombian colonowith adequate rigourfor satisfactory of is proof. The very local, long-termapproach the anthropologist possible,but generalization over wide areasis exceedinglydifficult.A differentresearchtechniqueis called for which will own views with a minimumof interviewerinterreliably,and objectively,extractthe colono's ferenceor contamination. Such a techniquewas employedin Colombiain 1974: namely, the repertorygrid. Ninety-fourcompletegrids were obtainedfrom five 'frontier'areasof tropical rainforest(see Fig. i); these included 84 from colonos and ten from officialsof development this methodhas the quantitative of agencies.Potentially, advantages socialsurveyworkwithout the undesirable impositionof the investigator's opinionsand perceptionswhich is commonto other types of interview,structured unstructured. or
REPERTORY-GRID METHODOLOGY

The elicitationand analysisof 'repertory grids' have been developedby clinicalpsychologists since the 1950S;the techniqueis designedto study the perceivedworldof an individualwith a minimumof interviewer-interference. Continuingapplicationin psychiatryhas yielded wide and understanding the mathematics analysis(Slater, 1974); the techniquehas of of experience been taken up in other fields (Bannisterand Mair I968) and has recently been discussed

432
MAP OF COLOMBIA, CLIMATIC

JANET G. TOWNSEND
TROPICALWET

Koppen System

ofquotorfor7

and employed by behaviouralgeographers (Harrison and Sarre, 1971, I975; Hudson,

I974). We may now be ready to utilize grid

mnliyoor',1'bi" rai.
~r
DRY-LOW LATITUDE

.technique ~..avanna.lie,?
~ ),,....... \

-S latI,n Stpp \

"t liml

bn een so complex that there is some debate whetherthe techniquecan be consideredgenand eralized free from theoretical assumptions as maintained Chetwynd(I974) or whether by
it must be related to Kelly's (1955) original

lems (Townsend, I976). Developments over the last 20 years have

in the study of Third World prob-

AJuofn"

Araused

Construct Personal Theory,whichwascertainly the seminalwork.In this paper,the terminology of PersonalConstruct Theory will be for clarity; some readerswho so wish mayconsiderit as a modelonly. On this model, organizeshis perceivedworld around a
set of constructs, each construct having two

fment ^^^BSI
r

X^^^ ^^^^tErn Li\it is assumed that any individual at any moa

^sis ANP jto

s>
4 t_. ~ \^ \

_.. j 3f

km

200

^-1J/7

i~

or poles,suchas 'wet-dry','clean-dirty' 'high||low'. Although many of these will be held in

common by most of humanity, the constructs

From-a .los

de Econom,a/Co/omb.ono

to will to pertaining any individual be personal him in their relative significance and their

FIGURE i.

weretaken

and particularly in their appliAreas colonization Colombiawheregrids organization, of in r an i cation. How will he scale, for instance, 'the

? best farmroundhere'on the aboveconstructs Obviously this will depend strongly on his culture, environment,experienceand possibly character.If the ideas are the constructs,the stimuli or objectsscaled on the constructsare the elements, things perceived,such as 'the best farmroundhere'. We can study not only the the constructs, how the individualratesthe elementson each construct.The whole system but to space',according theirscore origin,with the elementslocatedamongthem,or in the 'construct variation but on each construct.The 'construct space'is multidimensional, muchof the observed commonlyoccursin the firstthree dimensions. The possibilityof visualizing constructas a straightline froman ideato its contrary a along which the individualwill scale a given element is mathematically very convenient;various relates correlations angular and can relationships be studied.The mannerin whichan individual certainconstructsand elementsto each other can tell us much, not only about his perceived world,but aboutthe personalmeaninghe attachesto the wordshe is using. The elicitationof these patternsof elementsand constructsthus becomesan invaluabletool in communication, which is its primeuse in psychiatry offersmuch to behavioural and geographers. are used to elicit these cognitivesystems; they differ from other quantiRepertorygrids a or in tativeapproaches such as questionnaires that the individual the groupgenerates personal the set of questionsand answers.This is exactlywhat we requireto understand colonos.
RESEARCH DESIGN

can be visualized with the constructs as a bunch of knitting needles, all crossing at a common

The grid for an individual comprises a set of elementsin a framework for cross-tabulation against

worldsof colonists Perceived

"Clean" "GoodLand"
"Good

433

a set of constructs Fig. 2); the individual (see

Terrain"

"GoodWater"

then scoresthe one on the other.The typeof the of elements chosendefines 'field' the grid, as it is usual to employthem in the elicitation of constructs Kelly's'triad-sort':the resby
withthreeof theelements, pondentis presented

"Good House" "GoodAdministration' ."as Forest" "Complete" "HasMoney" "Farm Pays"

GLoorge

"BadlyLocated"
"
"Good Condton"

andaskedhowonediffers fromtheother two. The answeris a construct;if it is potentially to it applicable all the elements, can be emthus began ployed on the grid. Field-work witha pre-test whichmanytypes of eleon
-

ments were tried, but it was only on farmsas identified farmers'namesthat the colonos by

Cottle aGood "Has Crops" "OwnsCHis cttle" "Has Cattle"

"Labourers"

could complete grids of any size. This type of

elementleaves a fieldfor a widepossiblerange of constructs,open to social, economicor environmentaldifferentiation; is seen in a it

~ '/d?5~* '~~/c,/'''
FIGURE 2.

?,
Elements

",' - -/ G GO 'istic
I.

have world.(Geographers perceived complex of to tended use place-names the elements as butit is a characterrepertory-grid technique, of frontier areasof settlement there that names!To takethe extreme maybe no place
case of the frontieritself, thereseemsto be no exact way of denoting territorybeyond the

No=

Standard grid for main survey. Scoring: Yes

of and lands', duality 'myland'andthe'empty farmers are not acquainted with enoughfarmsto developa grid. Interviewing was simply concentrated behindthe frontier, no morethana day'stravelon foot perforce just generally or by muleor canoefromthe baldios 'empty or lands'.) In orderto be ableto analyse gridsnot onlyindividually in groups, pre-test the but the wasusedto develop standard of rolesanda standard of constructs render grids a set set the to A standard offarmroles thenusedto elicittenfarmers' set was names from comparable 2). (Fig. In the pre-test,random 'triads' werepresented until the subjectcouldproduce further no A constructs. five-point scalefrom'yes' to 'no' on eachconstruct, clearto use in relatively for the elicitedon Spanish, provedthe most acceptable completing grid.All the constructs thepre-test werelistedandclassified, a representative of eighteen and set established (Appendix set rolesdeveloped trialanderror as follows: was I). The standard of farm by 'yourownfarm', 'thebest 'a is here here','theworst farmround here', farmround whichyouthink an farmround liketo own','a cattle roundhere','a farmround the herewhere people idealfarm/would farm livewell','thelast farms'. necessary, If further farmyou wereon', 'yourneighbours' prompting wasusedto bringthe number to ten. up the ten on the Throughout mainsurvey gridsfromcolonos, fromofficials) emphasis (70 elicitation nevertheless, retained. eachinterview ten farmers' For the names wereelicited was, withthestandard in to of roles,thendeployed 'triads' elicittheconstructs. Many theconstructs wouldfallwithin standard newconstructs added the endof the grid. the were to produced set; As soonas difficulty producing in further constructs elicitation in ceased, orderto developed, leavethe respondent the energyto complete grid;the remaining with the in constructs the standard werethenadded, the wholegridcompleted. set and Eachgridthusendedas a dual
a respondent,and these in their turn were the elementsused in 'triads'to elicit the constructs.

434
inspection.

JANET G.TOWNSEND

grid: one suitablefor analysisin a set of grids, the other of elicited constructsfor individual it was No truesampling possibleat anystage;localconditions precluded withouta helicopter. to the Farmswerechosenfor theirproximity the frontier,eachfarmwherepossiblemaximizing conditionswith otherrespondents-land use, soil and water,and costs in contrasts geographical of access(road,mule track,river,dependence ferry,etc.). Oncea farmhad been approached, on the decision-maker the spot was askedfor an interview-this might be an owner-occupier on a colonist,a manager, tenant,a share-cropper in a few cases,a widowrunninga farmfounded or, Decision-makers her husband;womenas pioneersin their own right were not encountered. by in age from a young couple of i6 to a patriarch 63; the age-rangewas of interviewedranged betweenage and length of settlementor closeness commonly25-45; there was no correlation tendedto have come from the nearesthighlandregion,with marked to the frontier.All colonos effects beyond, as demonstrated by distance-decay cartographically INCORA (1974, Vol. I). from 7 ha into hundredsof hectares,being most commonlybetween io and Holdingsranged net o00ha with a medianof 44 ha. The interviewing was necessarily coarse;the set of colonists of colonistsas a whole. The aim interviewedcannotbe regardedas statistically representative datarelatedto the colono but of the surveywas not to gatheradditional descriptive population, to seek deeperinsightsinto perceptions motivations. and wherethereis ongoingcolonizaThe mainsurveywas carriedout in five areasof Colombia these comprisethree zones in the easternpiedmont tion of the tropicalrainforest (see Fig. i); of the Andes, one in the Pacificlowlandsand one far to the east. (Guerrilla activityprecludeda return to the middle Magdalena.)Field experiencealone indicatedboth the success of the The largestnumberof perceivedworlds of the colonos. techniqueand the highly rationalized answerssuppliedon a single grid was 286 (from a colonoduringthe pre-test,near Florencia); even the more averagenumber of i60 answersper respondentrepresentsa sizeableamount
TABLE I
elicitedin each interview(officialinterviewsin brackets) Numberof constructs Place: Constructs elicitedper interview None
I 2 3 3 4 I 2 I I 2 2 2 2

Pre-test

Caquetd

Nariio 2
2

Putumayo

Meta

Vaupes

Total 2
2

I
I

6
2 5

5
6 7 8 9
o1 II 12 13 14 15

6
Io 7 6

I I
I I I 2 2(2) I I

2 3 3

I 2 I
2 2 I(I) 2 (I)

I 2I

4 2 2
I I

3
I I I (I) 2(1)

7
7(1) 5 (I) (I) 4(1) 1(4) I(I) 3(2)

2(l) 2 I

I6
17 18 I

I
I

I
I I

I9 Total
13(2) 15

(I)
14(2) 14(2) 14(2) I4(2)

(I)
84(10)

Perceived worldsof colonists

435

ent has himself supplied the elements and most of the constructs,he has supplied his own are questions; thus the relationships of interestand relevanceto him and interestcan be sustained for a far longer time than with a prestructured questionnaire: the technique sells itself. The grids may of course contain omissions or even lies-but very few have inconsistencies.

of information, and points to one important characteristicof the technique: because the respond-

Colombianexpertsdid not believethat the elicitationof constructswould be possible,but as Table I shows,71 out of 94 respondents could producemorethanfive constructseachby the method.In the pre-test,whereelicitation exhaustive, 'triad-sort' was nine of the fifteenrespondents producedmore than ten elicited constructs.In only one area was elicitationdifficult:on the Pacificcoast, which presentsseveralabnormalities will be discussedbelow. Everywhere and the officialsproducedten or more constructs,but it will be noticed that they did not consistently producemore than the colonos, despite their much higher educationalstandardsand their greaterfamiliarity with test procedures.In at least one sense, the techniquecrossedthe illiteracybarrierand the class barrier:constructscould be elicited.
INTERVIEWING

It must be admittedthat this survey might not be generallyrepeatable.Quite apartfrom the normal access problems by canoe, mule, ferry, etc., obtaininginterviewswas a taxing and of exactingtaskin itself: it tookplacein the face of natural suspicion,in the disarming whichthe female sex and foreignnationalityof the two interviewers (the authorand assistant)may have officials suspect;all outsidersare suspected are playeda criticalrole. In these areas,government as government employees,but foreignwomen perhapsless so. Throughoutthis surveyan unColombiangrandfather role skilled,working-class playeda criticalintroductory as 'courier';an with many years' experienceof oil-prospecting sparselyinhabitedand guerrilla in ex-peasant regions,he madethe initialcontactson arrivalat each farm.Eachinterviewwould last about2 with the family.Only a few hours, the authortakingthe grid, the assistantworkinginformally colonos could in fact be interviewed alone; normallythe grid would be elicitedin a one-roomed hut swarmingwith children, dogs, cats, pigs, poultry and, on occasion, monkeys, macaws, toucans or pet snakes.Grids requireconcentration the part of the respondent;plans had on therefore been madeto capitalize the noveltyandforeignness the interviewers satisfying on of by naturalcuriosity;this provedvery successfulin overcomingthe equallynaturalsuspicion,and enablingthe assistantto draw off and distractthe family while the grid was elicited from the respondent.(Postcardsof 'home' were the main aid.) Payment for interviewswas made in Polaroidportraits,very suitablein this culturalcontext. The potentiallyfrighteningteam may well have been regarded an unexpectedentertainment. as These details are recountedto emphasizeboth the strengthsand the limitationsof the but methodology:grids permitteda far deeper interviewthan questionnaires, there might be drawbacks approaching problemon a largerscale, or even with local personnel. in the
WHAT CONSTRUCTS?

In a sense the raw results are the most impressive:they state what they have to say without muchfurtherinterpretation. detailsof constructs Full elicitedare therefore given in Appendices I and II. Table II deals with the constructson the main grid and shows (a) how often each of these eighteenstandard constructswas elicitedon the mainsurvey,and (b) how often each was discarded whenthe respondent cameto completethe gridby his givingthe samescore effectively for each elementon that construct;this is takento meanthat he does not use that constructto differentiate betweenthe elements.At this point one would like to see a list of the constructs that those who believe the colonoto be traditionaland irrationalwould expect to find. It is

436

JANET G.TOWNSEND TABLE II

Constructs maingrid: showing on number timesre-elicitedon mainsurvey,and of numberof times discardedby respondent(sub-totalsfor officials in brackets) Construct Large () - small (5) Good administration(I) - poor (5) Has cattle (I) - no cattle (5) Good house (i) - no good house (5) Has crops (i) - no crops (5) Has money () - no money (5) Badly located (I) - well located (5) Good land (I) - poor land (5) Good water (I) - short of water (5) Has forest (I) - no forest (5) Clean (I) - has weeds (5) Good terrain (I) - poor terrain (5) Complete (I) - beginning (5) Good condition () - poor condition (5) Owns his cattle (i) - cattle on credit (5) Good cattle (I) - poor cattle (5) Farm pays (I) - farm does not pay (5) Has labourers(I) - no labourers(5) Total grids: 80; (officials: Io) Elicited 63 (o1) 46 (5) 43 (Io) 37 (5) 36 (9) 34 (6) 32 (4) 31 (7) 31 (5) 26 (3) 23 (2) 22 (7) I8 (2) I4 (4) 9 (I) 8 (3) 5 (3) 5 (3) Discarded o (o) 6 (o) 2 (o) 2 (o) 15 (o) 5 (o) 17 (I) 33 (I) 27 (2) IO (i) I (o) 28 (2) 6 (o) 9 (o) 7 (o) 2 (o) o1 (o) Io (I)

againstthe official:it was for this reasonthat grids possibleonly, however,to assessthe colono in were takenfrom'officials' each area,usuallyINCORAemployeesin contactwith the colonos, but on one occasionan extenion officerfrom a developmentbank.Althoughseveralof these would be incapableof expressinga system of officialssaid, when interviewed,that the colonos I farms,it maybe notedthat,as shownby Appendices andII, the constructs evaluating employed in generalthe same. and are by the 84 colonos ten officials firstthe totalson Table II, we see that althoughthe rankingof the rning oconstructs Considering will by frequencyof elicitationis of interest,it defines not the constructswhich respondents those they will mention.Furtheranalysisdoes supportthe salient points activelydeploy, but of and of such as the dominance size of farm,standard administration whetherthereare cattle. that constructsrelatingto the physicalenvironment-evaluationof it transpires Nevertheless, land, terrainand water-are discardedabout as frequentlyas they are elicited; conversely, 'freedomfromweeds' does not scorehigh on elicitation,but is very highlyemployedonce sugIt mightproducea gestedby the interviewer. must be admittedthat on occasionthe respondent constructfroma triadsort of elementsbut, when he cameto completethe grid, discard physical the sameconstructby giving a uniformscore. This appearsto serveto identifya sectionofthe and perceivedworldwhereboth colonos officialspay much lip-serviceto the constructsbut use
them little. Returning to the universe of constructs elicited at all stages, it is illuminating to group them under simple headings (Table III). This a priori grouping is worth brief consideration before proceeding to the most appropriate form of analysis, the extraction of principal components. First, the constructs relating to the physical environmentare usually very generalized and weakly employed. It had been an hypothesis of this research that physical indicators are important in the colono'schoice of a farm site, but it was not possible to substantiate this. It may be

farmsin these areasare similarwith regardto physicalconditions,or that that neighbouring rathera coarselevel of resolutionis appliedin assessingland qualities.It is difficultto assess

worldsof colonists Perceived

TABLE III Simple groupingof constructs Groupsof constructs Physical environment of farm Progress in colonization of farm Size of farm Economic status of farm Management of farm Accessibility of farm Others elicited Numberof constructs 144 244 74 i80
Io6

437

37 7

whether the greater use of these constructs by officials arises from their naturally knowing a

or greaterrangeof farmsthanthe individualcolono fromgreaterskillsin this field. Of the three constructson the standardgrid (Fig. 2), 'good land' refers to soil conditions,'good physical wish to be free of steep slopes and terrain'to the physicalshape of the land, which the colonos of of swampy,ill-drainedareas,and 'good water'to the availability drinkingwaterfor cattle, On accessto runningwaterbeing preferred. the main survey,these constructswere frequently re-elicited,but few new physicalconstructsappeared.Of these, the main one was whetheror in not the farmhas 'naturalpasture'or sabana:this appeared Meta, which was the one region in on the rainforest-savanna For the colonos that area,this is a criticalpoint as the profringe.
ductivity of the savanna land for cattle or crops is only a fraction of that of the adjoining forest land, and the forest-savanna fringe is not a gentle transition but a sharply differentiated patchwork of each type, so that even a small farm may have both. On the pre-test, where elicitation

was more exhaustive,more detailedsoil constructsappeared,such as 'gravellysoil' or 'lacks humus'; in additionto 'good land', subdivisionsappearedsuch as 'land good for cattle', 'land to good for crops'and 'landwhichyields anything':these, however,weremeaningful only a few Details on terrainand waterwere also elicitedon the pre-test,such as 'flat','tiene respondents. mesones' dissectedriver-terrace (has land), 'has flood-plain','swampy','liableto flood','enough water'and 'accessto river'(for water).These certainlyserveto describethe perceivedphysical world in these lowlandswhich are indeed composedphysicallyof an intricatepatternof flood plain and river terrace,of productiveland at risk to floods and dry, gravellyhills of lower aboutthe wholerangeof farmsthey however,find it difficultto generalize Colonos, productivity. aredescribing scoring,say, on 'goodland':they preferthe detaileddescription, farmby farm, by for which is not appropriate grid analysis. In the frontiersituation,a farmis not its physicalendowmentbut its investment;indeed, the physicalpotentialof a farm can be judged with increasingexactitudeas colonizationpronew waterregimesstabilizeandthe landliterallybecomesvisible. gresses,the forestis destroyed, in The colono lives in a changingworld quentlythan the physicalenvironment farmevaluation. or as the land progresses is degraded (Tosi and Voertman,1964)fromforestto cropsto secondgrowthto cropsagainand finallyto pastureand the ultimategoal of 'has cattle';224 constructs wereelicitedon these themes.There is a wide literature colonization on sequences,but in these areasa commonobjectiveis clearlya cattlefarmwithoutcrops,cropsbeinggenerally distasteful a stage in the clearingof the forest and the obtainingof credit to buy cattle, althoughpancoger (a subsistencepatch for the farm) may still be found at later stages. Here there is a wealthof constructs,from the standard'complete','has cattle' and 'clean' (free of weeds) through'has detailfirmlyaddedby individualcolonos such as 'much crops'and 'has forest'to the additional
This time-dimension, or stage of progress of colonization, was actually mentioned far more fre-

438

JANET G.TOWNSEND

'has 'muchforest'andthe dislandcleared', 'muchpasture', second-growth', pasture', 'good and between 'founder the farmer' the 'purchaser'. tinction out most Size of farmis the singleconstruct elicited interviews of 94);all officials sup(72 in theseregions ioo ha as a minimum economic for (mostfarms viability pliedit, andregarded in what Size aremuchsmaller). is seenasof determining importance constraining the farmer no to showed tendency elaborate the obtaining credit. with canachieve in of and Respondents of butrepeatedly the importance thisone. additional constructs, emphasized the such as whether farmer also statusoffarmsdepends on otherfactors, The economic to afford keepthe Can is 'hasmoney' colonos 'capital/moneythe essential'). the farmer (the say ? Does farm'clean', 'goodcondition', a 'goodhouse'and'workers/labourers' he 'own in with ? scheme (The latteris comor his cattle'or is he buyingthemon a hirepurchase mortgage on ? the appear thestandard pays' Alltheseconstructs monly case.)Canit be saidthatthe'farm the has whether farmer other in themainsurvey. elicited Also werethequestions gridemployed is the who of or of sources income livesfromthe produce the farm; farmer 'hasbusiness' seen or a to in at asfortunate hiscapacity invest thefarm timesof need,orsurvive drought a market in At to lose disaster whenmanycolonos theirfarms theircreditors. a muchlowereconomic level, as as investment ananimal-powered mill'is envied thefarmer hasevensucha minor who 'sugar withsugarwhichcanbe storedoverlongperiods. ableto keephis household supplied being for of statuswere 'has fences'(essential efficient Otherexpressions economic cattle-raising, 'has 'has to 'has investment achieve), corrals', moreofficial but stilla critical credit', irrigation' and'hasmachinery'. forms.'Goodadministration' and of the efficiency investment, waselicited timesin various 93 on and constructs is of greatimportance as with'large' 'hascattle' the mostelicited and ranks constructs moredetail-'goodcattlemanageelicited the maingrid.Againthe additional give 'farmtechnified' 'has 'has ment','well organized', pasture rotation', maximum production', constructs Here manyof the additional 'farmlost' and 'farmabandoned'. and the converse liveson farm', 'owner works suchas 'owner to referspecifically the owner, hard', 'enterprising 'owner lives country 'moreeducated 'interested owner', owner', owner', owner', 'responsible come Mostof thislastgroup married'. life','dedicated owner', happily 'goodboss'and'owner than to moreimportance 'goodadministration' the it fromthe officials: is not thattheyattach in for to more but colonos, thattheymake by attempt account variations administration reference to was 'bornlocally' thought be an to otherfactors-asin the Narinio wherethe farmer area, the unlesshe had'livedoutside region'. farmmanager inferior farms because without neighbouring tendto be possibly beinga gooddiscriminator, lip-service to for The construct in a similar 'badlylocated' accesscan be compared 'hascrops' plight. to farms on to as and'hasforest' constructs tending scoresimilarly neighbouring andtherefore In at of be discarded. is, importance all stages. Meta,evena Accessibility however, the greatest is to if farmon a mainroadmaylose its harvest the one feederroadfromthe region Bogota on a At twicein I974,forinstance. theother as for blocked months, occurred extreme, newfarm the it on almost to thefrontier beforced subsist may entirely what canproduce; farmer carry may in on sackfuls produce his backto the nearest of heavily debt,in store,wherehe is probably kneetracks have he Evenin thedryseason, willprobably to struggle order buygoods. to along sales fromhis nearest of mules, he maybe 2 or 3 dayscarry and deepin mudfromthe passage at are often aninvestment; thetracks onlypassable allin thedry point.Evena mulerepresents so on and seasons thereis intense transport, thatcostspersackby pressure the onlyavailable
to Finally,accessibility marketgovernsall lives on the frontier,but againthis receivesmuch alikeas defining and is management seenby colonos officials Although'moneyis the essential',

of mulemaywell be beyondthe colono. Waitingforthe arrival a roadis partof the wholemystique

Perceived worldsof colonists

439

of colonization; one can createa subsistencefarmout in the forestand hold on to it, thereis if for the magichope that accesswill improveand the land can be mortgaged cattle,which always a much moresecureliving thancrops.Whenthe roadto Bogotais blocked,cashcropsmay give of be lost, but cattlecan waitfor saleuntil it is re-opened;the greatattraction cattleto the colono is understandable. No very markeddifferences with different appearin constructselicited from respondents sizes of farm,but it mustbe remembered farmsare smallon the frontier,as soon that, although as the regionis fully colonizedso manyfarmshave failedto reachthe cattlestagethat the large farm dominates.The averageman thus has less than the averagestakein colonization.
WHAT RELATIONSHIPS?

Severalforms of analysisare availablefor more detailedstudy of the roles of any or all of the in elementsand constructs the perceivedworldpresented any gridor set of grids.As we have by and relatedin abstract seen, elementsand constructsare assumedto be distributed significantly 'multidimensional space': it is thus possible, for instance,to measurethe 'relativedistances' betweenthe elementsin the constructspace, or, returningto the knittingneedle analogy,the betweenconstructs, betweenelementsor betweenelementsandconstructs; relationships angular variousother quantitative indicatorsare available.For this researchthe M.R.C. Grid Analysis Packagehas been employed(Chetwynd,I974). One individual in gridwill be takenas an example.The thirdcolono the provinceof Caqueta to supply a grid, for instance,is interestingbecauseof his havingspent 30 yearsin the region, whenit wasalmostuninhabited. him 'the tracksarethe important To arriving thing',secondonly to havingthe fundsto get produceto market.The localphysicalproblemis thatof lakesbetween the terraces; otherwisethe landon the actualriverbanksis fertile.Or so he says,but on his grid he 'discards' physicalconstructsby not differentiating the alongthem. He has I80 ha; his principal complaintis the lackof co-operative spiritfor buildingbridges,etc.; his faith is 'Who has cattle, has money'. Analysis shows that some of his constructsare stronglycorrelatedand a of groupcan be seen to cluster,with correlations over o080: Large: Farmpays 0o87 Good condition0o86 Good administration o-9I Many cattle o08I Goodadministration: Good conditiono096 Many cattle o08I Farmpays o095 Well constituted0-95 Farmpays: Good condition0o82 Well constitutedi.oo Goodcondition: Many cattle o-84 Well constituted0o82 Good appearance 0o82 Goodcattle: Good appearance o095 Has transport 0o88 also constructsand his elements. Interesting high correlations appearbetweenthis respondent's On many grids, much of the variationbetween elementsis between the 'worst farm' and all the otherfarms;in this case an even more stronglyrejectedfarmappears:

440
Large: Neighbour C -0 87

JANET G.TOWNSEND

Goodhouse:Best farm0o82 Goodadministration: Worstfarm - o83

Neighbour C -O-9I Farm pays: Worst farm -0-82 Neighbour C -o087 Well constituted: Worst farm - o082

NeighbourC -0o87 Goodappearance: NeighbourC -o085 Many cattle: NeighbourD 0-82

Has transport: Worst farm - o96

It is thus possibleto extracta seriesof correlations fromeachgrid,and to examinethem for between a group of featuresof interest. This farmercan be seen to exhibit high correlations additionof 'manycattle'and 'goodtransconstructs fromthe standard with the significant grid, with a constructare 'best farm'with port'.The only elementsstronglyand positivelyassociated C' D' 'good house'and 'neighbour with 'has morecattle';the 'worstfarm'and 'neighbour seem with constructssuch as to do much to create the grid by their strong negativerelationships and 'large','good administration' 'farm pays'-the group of constructswhich are themselves intercorrelated. highly the Throughthese relationships grid definesclearlythe perceivedworldof the respondent, but the most appropriate worldhere is by principal to approach the totalityof a givenperceived and to These will be referred graphically selectivelyin the text; the loadingtables components. of methodprovidesthe greatadvantages a comwill be found in AppendixIII. The graphical overviewof a given grid which may well outweigh the concomitantinaccuracy. prehensive of of Figure3 thus gives,for the gridjust discussed,a representation the relationships constructs and elementswithin the componentspace definedby the firstthree components.It is a simple use of map projectiontechniques(Slater, I974), and in this case the first three components accountfor 77 per cent of the componentspace. All the constructsare located in this threedimensionalspace by their loadings,each having an axis through the centre of the sphere: here only one pole of the constructis marked,for easierreading.The elementsmay be seen as

* Position

of element

* Pole of construct 3 components 77%

()

Pole of elicited space

construct

component

FIGURE 3.

for Colono3, Department of Caqueta. diagram components I, Composite

and 3

worldsof colonists Perceived

44I

A Position of element

* Pole of construct

3 components: 87% component space

FIGURE Consensus of set of Caqueta colonos.Composite diagramfor components I, 2 and 3 4.

satellites at fixed positions above the globe. Points which appear near to each other on the surface of the sphere have a high positive correlation (cf. the correlations for the same grid listed above);

Elementsand constructsclose to points at opposingpoles have a perfectnegativecorrelation. the 'o'-I8o' longitude'line havehigh loadingson the firstcomponent,those alongthe 'equator' high loadingson the second,loadingsnearthe 'poles',high loadingson the third. To repeat,all and in groupings relationships this three-dimensional spacearesignificant, althoughothermeaningful relationships may exist outsideit.
CAQUETA

not Figure 4 shows these relationships for a single individual,but for the 'consensus'or comin puted averagegrid of a set of fifteen colonos Caqueta.Likenessescompound,and here the three principalcomponentsaccountfor 87 per cent of the componentspace. In readingthe tables are generatedfor constructs and elements, but loadings,separateprincipal-component both relateto the same components(see AppendixIII). We see that the firstcomponent(Table IV) appearsto be a value scalingorganized around an axis from the 'best farm'and 'idealfarm'to the 'worstfarm'and 'old farm'.Valueis judged here in terms of a close clusterof variableswhich, as it were, expresseach other: the ideal or
TABLE IV i Caquetdconsensus:high loadingson principalcomponent Constructs Good cattle Good house Farm pays Complete Good administration Has cattle Good condition Clean Large Loadings - 0945 - 0936
-0'933
-0-912

Elements Worst farm Best farm Ideal farm Old farm

Loadings 1'948 -1'797 - 0'o37 0o842

- o-888 - o888 - 0o879 - o0874 - 0'774

442

JANET

G.TOWNSEND

TABLE V 2 Caquetdconsensus:high loadingson principalcomponents Constructs Has crops Has money Good water Own cattle Has forest Has workers Good terrain Good land Loadings o0940 -0-727 o0783 - 0717 0-708 - o0647
o0641

Elements Cattle farm Old farm Respondent's own farm

Loadings
-1.073 -I-07I I'020

o-614

factorcan be seen as completeness,good conditionand freedomfrom weeds; the management central.As in Figure4, the secondcomponent (TableV) on this consensusis muchmorerelated to the respondent's 'own farm',which has a low loadingon the first component,as if the first criterionone uses to judgea groupof farmsmay not applyto one's own. The 'own farm'has a
sharply negative relationship with 'has money' and its concomitants ('own cattle', 'has workers'); it scores relatively highly on physical factors of good land, terrain and water, and has a frontier role reflected in the high scores on 'has crops' and 'has forest'. The type 'cattle farm' and the 'old farm' have opposite loadings on this component; they are more characteristic of longer settled areas. Component 2 in this case could be described as characteristically personal-no accessibility, but this is somewhat obscure as it is combined with the actual owning (as against mortgaging) of cattle, and is associated in the same direction with both best and worst farms. Figure 4 underlines these relationships. These three components here account for over 80 cribed, but all the farms except for those chosen as neighbours are over 70 per cent described by these components. Components i to 3 have taken out 87 per cent of the variation; components 4 Althoughcomponents to 6 do 4 to 6 takeout anotherI I per cent, leavingonly tiny residuals.

best farm has good cattle, a good house and it pays; its good administration is reflected in its

money,but hopes from physicalendowmentand frontiernature. Component3 has few high loadings(Table VI). There is an importantingredientof in-

on (AppendixIV); the exceptionsare'good per cent of the totalvariation most of the constructs terrain','has forest'and 'badlylocated'.The elementsprove to be much less completelydes-

show relationships, they are not very readilyexplained.Thus on component4 the respondent's and withloadings o0403 'goodterrain' - 0438 on farm'hasa loadingof - 0o622 associated of 'own located'.'NeighbourC' has a loadingof o0634on component5, where'has forest'has on 'badly 0-504. It may be said that no clear pictureemergesfrom the componentsremainingafter the extractionof the firstthree, but that aspectsof individualfarmsdo appearhere. conHow far does this consensussummarizethe perceivedworlds of the fifteen colonos on cerned? Naturallyit concentrates what they have in common.When the individualgrids ten are consideredseparately, have much the same firstcomponentas the consensus,four mix the two componentsand one first componentis differentfrom the consensus.The consensus
TABLE VI 3 Caquetdconsensus:high loadingson principalcomponent Constructs Bad location Own cattle Good land Loadings - 0778 -0'535 - 0443 Elements Best farm Worst farm Ideal farm Loadings -o-819 -o 562 0-48I

Perceived worldsof colonists 443 are around bestfarm-worstfarmaxis:thisis trueof onlyseven the loadings arranged strongly of the individual the consensus the 'worst has farm' therootof thegrid,but as grids;similarly, in onlynineindividual is thisthecase.However, clear a dominates these grids geographic pattern contrasts: is in the longer it settledareas the worstfarm,the best-worst andthe first that axis the frontier the component govern grids;the extreme provides deviations. 3 Figure camefrom Individual each gridsdo also vary in the elementsand constructs Although supplied. a standard we canexamine the constructs elicited from respondent completed grid, (a) actually on no so him, (b) the constructs whichhe recognized variation, thattheyarerejected (Table rolesnot utilizedby the respondent. Eachgridthus has individual II), and (c) the element character related individual to Certain and elements constructs verycharacterare perceptions. istic in theirbehaviour, the patterns re-form fromgridto grid;the erratic elements although are'thefarm where livewell'andthe'lastfarm respondent on/old the the was they farm'; erratic, inconsistent constructs 'has crops','has forest'and 'badlysituated': are clearlythese play different rolesin the perceived worldsof different colonos maycarrydifferent and meanings. Somefarmers 'has as the not others regard crops' retrograde, signof a badfarm yetunder grass; see themas positive, cashin handforthe improvement the farm.Somesee 'hasforest' as of as othersregard remaining the forestas a valuable as similarly retrograde; resource, particularly it canbe felledto growcrops whenrequired, whilepasture cannot theseregions profitably in be At the is ploughed forcrops. an earlystageof colonization emphasis thatall wishto replace up cattlefarmers be proud owning of will cropswithcattleandclearthe forest;later,established forestland. Thusthephysical environment temperament theindividual and of affect overall the pattern of loadings. as in Figure4 showsthe positive polesof all constructs emerging the same'hemiof are overboth 'hemispheres'. On sphere' the component space,whilethe elements located individual it is 'hasforest' 'hascrops' and whichtendto wander the'other to grids hemisphere'. somerespondents locate theirelements the positive of theirconstructs; all at end Again, others, asin theconsensus, themwidely have and havealltheirelements distributed, yetothers negative to theirconstructs. this to in contrasts thatthe last group Generally againrelates real-world tendto be on thefrontier, surrounded farms which notcomeupto thestandards which do by by theyjudge. Theresults obtained nowbeenseenbytheinspection oneindividual andof the have of grid, set of fifteengridsof whichit formsa part.It is alsopossible consider gridsof all five to the sets that examined Appendix regional together, including already (see III).
ALL COLONOS INTERVIEWED ON MAIN SURVEY

a colono a longer-settled in areaand illustrates type. this

the of of Figure5 displays characteristicsthe consensus all 70 colonos. Manyof thesecontinue the themesthat we have seen from Caqueta, thereis a greater but concentration the of the to value-scaling constructs-including financial ones-althoughthoserelated the physical to and detached. environment, accessibility to 'hascrops'and'hasforest'areagainsomewhat Onthe loadings, on the diagram, see the dominance the 'worstfarm', 'bestfarm', as we of the the 'cattlefarm'andthe 'idealfarm',in conjunction no less thanten value-scaling with constructs a loading o09 thefirstcomponent, with over on followed 'hasmoney' 'owncattle': and by thegreater of number grids thesetemphasizing common in the For the aspects. Caqueta loadings tendto be lower,evenwhenindicating similar results Appendix As between (see III). Caqueta andtheindividual the is less and on grids, second component much stable reliable bothelements andconstructs: Caqueta haveseena financial in we element the secondcomponent: the in on overall consensus hasmoved thefirst,leaving firstcomponent alltheinvestment this to the with

444

JANET G.TOWNSEND

+90?(

A[d , .Ne/hbour A

-90?

_|

|o(GoodcattleIe

Good house ration e .......... 1 ~Complete

+ Q9

N ghbo CGood atIaest Goodl..... /Ve' /b

t?

.....

'

a....o

Good condition

.C

asr'

A Position of element

* Pole of construct

3 components: 91% component space

FIGURE Consensus of set of all colonos main survey. Composite diagramfor components i, 2 and 3 on 5.

and the second and third components with the 'geography'-physical endowment, crops, forest and, on the third component, accessibility. These aspects are clear from both diagrams and loadings. Examination beyond the first three components does not greatly clarify the picture: Appendix IV shows the percentage of total variation on each element and construct explained by the first three components, but where this is low, further components fail to explain much. Specifically, component 4 is of interest in this case although it is only variations on a familiar theme: 'own cattle' has a loading of 0o658, 'bad location' one of o0490 and, among the elements, the 'own farm' has -0.594, 'neighbour B' 0.450 and the 'ideal farm' -0-483; again, the actual relationships are obscure. Residuals after component 4 are very low. The missing variation can be located, but the rationale is not apparent; it is possible that this occurs in response to features of the cognitive system which were not elicited. As an example, it may be noted that most Colombian farmers do consider political allegiance important in access to credit, in which they are probably correct. Yet the topic is so sensitive that enquiry of the farmers is highly unreliable, prejudicial to other information and in some cases involves possible risk of attack upon the interviewer-and on 94 completed grids, only one respondent mentioned politics. This, then, is probably a repeatedly 'hidden' construct which calls for study with other techniques and in this case produces only unexplained variation; there may even be other such constructs.
REGIONAL TESTING OF THE TECHNIQUE

It has been said that five sets of grids were obtained from five zones of tropical rainforest in Colombia. The intention was to test the power of the technique by visiting areas of similar physical environment, but contrasting cultural characteristics (see Fig. i). The pre-test and the first set were taken beyond Florencia in the Department of Caqueta, the second east of Tumaco, in Nariiio, the third west of Puerto Asis, in Putumayo, the fourth around San Juan de Arama in Meta, and the fifth in the drier, less fertile and more remote area around El Retorno in Vaupes. It is necessary to consider the magnitude of the geographical contrasts concerned in some detail, beginning with the background of the Caqueta results described above. Caquetai Caquetaiis one of the nation's more advanced zones of colonization, although it still contains frontier areas. Planned colonization efforts date back to official resettlement during the civil

worldsof colonists Perceived

445

unrestof the I950S (gridswere takenon the schemeof El Mono), and continuingspontaneous colonizationis receivingsignificantsupportfrom the WorldBank, via INCORA, the national
agrarianreform agency. The salient characteristic of this area is the ready availability of agrarian credit, combined with the substantial current investment in transport infrastructure. As a result, the 'frontier' is under intense pressure: beyond a fan of penetration-roads, there is a dense net blocked by landslides, even in the dry season-but when the road is clear, the national capital, Bogota, can be reached from Florencia in a day, a fact to which the production of the whole

of mule-trails, wholetowns,waitingfor the road,dependon riverand airaccess.The whole and Departmentis frequentlycut off from the rest of the countrywhen its single feeder road is regionappearsto be geared.

Nariino
Florencia is a growth-point; lowland Nariniois a backwater. Again a feeder road comes over the Andes into the tropical rainforest, but from Tumaco it is two hard overland days to Cali, the nearest major market, and a further day to Bogotaior Medellin. This alone does not account for the stagnation, for Putumayo, on the other side of the Andes, has the same time-distance con-

is thanin Caqueta.The stagnation straints,and therecolonization active,althoughless advanced of lowlandNariiiois usuallyattributedto eitherrace or culture,for this is a primarily mulatto region, like all the Pacific lowlands of Colombia (West, I952). Anyone conditionedto the
at Caqueta landscape is startled to see tall forest growinzg the roadside; elsewhere in Colombia, a road is a sufficient condition for agriculturalcolonization, but here the heritage is of subsistence

garden culture and of involvement in non-agricultural activities-gold mining, lumbering, fishingand, morerecently,buildingthe pipelinefrom Tumacoto the Putumayoand hopingfor employmentin a proposedrefinery.To the north the Pacificlowlandsof Colombiaare one of the wettest areasin the world and perforcenot very agricultural. The nearestdensely settled is stronglyIndian in race and culturefor Colombia,but the few inregion, highlandNarifio, are coming colonos largelymestizo,whetherfrom Narifioor from the north. Here alonethe rateof outright was refusals very high, constructswerevery difficultto elicit and althoughthe areahas a muchlongerhistoryof settlement,colonization at a very is (Table I) there were a few active and successfulcolonists, of all colours, rudimentary stage. Obviously but the population generalwas slightlyhostile to enquiry.Respondents in were thus moreselfand probablymuch of interestlay behind the many refusals.Agricultural extension selecting officials havesimilardifficulties contact;evenwhentheyarethemselves in and education mulatto, seem to have a 'whitening'effect and put them on the wrongside of the barrier. employment (Most of the upper strataare Caucasoidor mestizo.)It appearedthat the immediateproblem with the gridsis that the concept'farm'as an elementhad very little meaninghere, whichtook the sense out of the elicitation.Then for most people here a good subsistencegardenis closely sown with a varietyof plants;the officialsregardthis as backward. This is remoteindeed from colono cognitivesystems.Nevertheless,thereis a smallcolono population all colours)actively (of the advancing frontier,fromwhomgridswereobtained.Here as usualinterestwas shownin the 'large'and 'has cattle'constructs;despitelow elicitationrates,the standard grid was completed with considerable internalvariation, the consensusresultsare basically and similarto those from other regions.This 'two cultures'situationmakesthis potentially attractive an areafor detailed study. Althoughthe loadingson the firstcomponentdo differbetweenthe consensusfor Tumaco and the totalconsensus,the overallemphasiscontinuesto be on much the sameconstructs.The point uniqueto Tumacois the high numberof elementswith high loadingson this component (AppendixIII). Constructswith unexpectedloadingsare 'clean' and 'has money' which are

446

JANET

G.TOWNSEND

on the total consensus),and 'has crops' which is usually on the second componentbut here appearsalso on the first (-0'479). 'Has money' migratesto the second component,'clean'to the third; this last does suggest a radicaldifferencein outlookwhich may relate to cultural contrasts.The Spaniards but broughta technologywhich includedclean-weeding, the heritage of the Africanslavesimportedto mine gold here was quite different; link is tenuous,but the the
difference may stem from this. The greater importance of crops on the first component would then show the mulatto culture of the region as placing 'has crops' on the same component as the value-scaling constructs and 'has cattle' and discarding 'clean' from this component unlike the

much lower than elsewhere (- 0-366 and - 0-388 respectively, compared to - 0922 and - o838

four mestizo regions. Anotherdistinctivepoint is that the respondent's'own farm' has high with the loadingson both secondand thirdcomponents;on the second,it is as usualassociated 'has crops'and 'has forest',but on the thirdthe high loadingsare the 'own physicalconstructs, farm'(0o823) and the constructs'clean'(0o668)and 'large'(- 0632) which is a cleardeparture from the usual pattern. The set of gridsfromlowlandNariiiodisplaysone problemof the technique:the loss of the extra constructselicited from the respondentswhen comparisonsare required,as only the fromgridto grid.Here,for instance,thereis muchdependence standard can be compared set on not ratherthan maizefor subsistence,so that one encounters only 'has crops'but 'has plantains plantainpatch'; this is also the one region visited which has some incipient plantationsof and Africanpalm,both privatelyand government-sponsored, the construct'has palm'appears. Much of the population bornin the regionand, as mentionedabove,the officialssuggested was
that local farm technology and management were poor, and that it was incomers and locals who had 'lived elsewhere' who showed promise. In the set we lose also a farmer who differentiates

farmsby their 'cattlefattening','milch cattle'and 'cattlebreeding',and an officialwith a long than list of constructs explaining why one farmeris a betteradministrator another.Nevertheless, it is also importantnot to lose sight of the overallsimilarities with other regions,epitomized by the loadingof - 0o904on 'has cattle'on the first componentfor the Narifioset. Beyond the first three componentswe can see that most of the constructs(save 'badly been very fully accountedfor, as havethe elements(Appendix located'and 'clean')havealready IV). 'Badlylocated'and 'clean'(-0o729 and o0467)appearon component4, with the elements
'own farm', 'best farm' and 'neighbour B' (0o448, 0o445 and -0o574). Residuals are then very
low.

Putumayo and At the otherend of the Narinio pipeline,acrossthe Andes,it is oil discoveries, moreparticuroadswhich have opened up the Putumayoto colonizationover the last 10 larly oil company at was perforceconcentrated the base of the Andes to avoid areashit by a years. Interviewing very recentflood disaster.Grids were thereforetakenin an areawhere climateis delayingthe forward sweepof the frontier,as rainfallis high enoughto precludethe burningwhichnormally precedescropping.Despite the greatlyinferiorlocationwith respectto marketin comparison therewere marked similarities between with Caquetaand the widespread povertyof Putumayo, the two in cultureand socio-economic structures. arriveand produceis transported a single and As with Caquetai Narino,would-becolonos by and sourceareafor colonos, feederroadfrom the Andes. HighlandNarifiois here an important in this area alone were a few colonos akin to the traditionalstereotypeof 'ignoranthighland life-stylesfrom highland peasants'(Townsend, I975), in attemptingto bring their traditional of all the colonos greatestapparent Narifiostraightinto the lowlandrainforest. poverty Certainly seemedto be of IndiancultureandfromhighlandNarifio-but thereis no inevitable connection,

447 for one whole settlementwas encountered which had moved en bloc,but had not hesitatedin structure. adoptinglowlandtechnologyand socio-economic This areaproduceda largenumberof elicitedconstructs,nearlya thirdof them not on the standardgrid. Absenteelandlordswere mentionedfor the first time, for instance;the colonos
also supplied detailed constructs on credit, financial position, stage of colonization, names of types of pasture, purpose of stocking with cattle and reasons for success pertaining to the owner, such as 'owner works hard', 'owner politically involved'. The officials were similarly concerned for Caqueta (Appendix III), but the structure of the elements differs. The distance between 'the best farm' and the 'worst farm' in the Caqueta grid is considerably greater than in Putumayo;

worldsof colonists Perceived

with characteristics the owner-'responsible', 'moreeducated'. of On the standardgrid, the loadingsof the constructson componenti are much like those the structureof the componentis more complexin Putumayo,with more elementswith high

loadings than in Caqueta. Differences overall appear to be minor despite the considerable geographical disparity, but the actual loadings on components 2 and 3 do differ in distribution. 'Badly located' is on component 3 in Caqueta, component 2 in Putumayo, for instance, although component 2 in both cases carries the same physical constructs. In Putumayo 'has forest' and 'have crops' are on component 3, not 2 as in Caqueta or the total consensus; this is not readily explicable. Relationships beyond the first three components are again obscure.

Meta core. being the frontierof a much longer-established The lowlandsof Meta are largelysavanna;
Villavicencio is now only half a day from Bogota and has been long and intensely developed. The third Andean piedmont zone of colonization visited differed from all the other areas in

South of the Rio Ariari-itself the site of a majorINCORA project(Eidt, I967; Duff, I968)-

there is a frontier zone of rainforest with savanna patches. This is a drier zone, and water here became an important elicited construct; similarly, the relatively good road access supports crop

production for the Bogota market, and 'has crops' assumes a new importance. This is hazardous,
however, for the road may be cut for months at a time and the harvest lost; as the colozos are

highly market orientated, this spells disaster. On the individual grids, Meta produced again many familiar constructs with some new
farmer', for instance. Most consuccess-explaining constructs from the officials-'dedicated structs are descriptive, including a marked interest among the colonos in whether a farm 'has

machinery' and whether it 'could be mechanized'-almost certainly a direct function of the Bogota crop market. This is reflected again on the first component, where 'has cattle' and 'good cattle' score lower than usual (0-760 and 0-556 in Meta compared to -o0926 and -0o987 for Putumayo) although 'good condition', 'has workers' and 'clean' still have high loadings (0-970, o0906 and 0o904 respectively), and the component still appears to be value-scoring. On component 2, Meta alone of the sets has a very low loading on the 'old farm', which dominates the component on the overall consensus; it is individual also in relegating 'has forest' and 'good terrain' to the third component and in having a stronger fourth component than usual (Table VII). Even after that, component 5 has a loading of 0-536 for the 'own farm' and -o 677 for
TABLE VII Meta consensus:high loadingson principalcomponent 4 Constructs Good cattle Has forest Has cattle Loadings
0-742

Elements Neighbour B Best farm Worst farm

Loadings
I-040 -0-592

0-713 0-367

- 0387

448

JANET G.TOWNSEND

'good terrain'. This is the set where the first three components dominate least, occupying only 75 per cent of the component space (see Appendix V). This is largely because of a decline in the importance of the second component. Vaupes The town of El Retorno and the frontier area around are individualin being 'new': the town was only founded in i968 and was a government effort to occupy national territory more effectively. It is the most inaccessible o the areas visited; in January, El Retorno can be reached by road with one ferry point; for the rest of the year it depends on river and air transport. Colonization here is late and relatively slow owing to extreme difficulties in marketing produce; grids were obtained from a much 'younger' colonization with far more 'founder' colonos.Yet only the officials supplied constructs which had not appeared before, such as 'has good marriage' and 'farmer is a good boss'; the many individual constructs supplied by the colonos, such as 'has plantain patch', 'maximum production', 'has pasture' and 'much forest cleared' had all been previously encountered elsewhere, underlining the similarity of the colonization process. Under principal components analysis, the Vaupes set of grids has some small structural variations. One is the promotion of 'badly located' to a high loading on the first component (-0-832), this component being otherwise composed of the usual value-scaling group. It is very probable that the friction of distance is more apparent here on the 'best farm'-'worst farm' axis than elsewhere, because this is almost a miniature replica of the other areas visited in scale; baldios(empty lands) can here be reached in a day from the town. The second component follows much the standard pattern, with the unusual addition of a loading of o06I2 for 'farm complete'; possibly the absence of 'complete' farms accounts for the erratic behaviour of this construct. The construct 'has crops' scores high on both second and third components, being the only high loading on the latter, with 0-776. This may derive from its relationship to the elements: the high loadings on component 2 are for the 'old farm' ( -233), the farm where they 'live well' (o0728), the respondent's 'own farm' (-0 o674) and 'neighbour 3' (- o647); the 'worst farm' has a loading of only 0-395, in the same direction as 'has crops'. The high loadings for elements on
component 3, however, are for the 'old farm' (0-745), the 'worst farm
(-0

718) and 'neighbour

A' (f0539). Here 'has crops', o0776, is tending in the opposite direction to the 'worst farm', 8, more than reversing the slight relationship on component 2. The complication probably -0-7 arises from the tendency of the 'worst farm' role to be filled here by an 'abandoned' farm which is producing nothing, while normally the 'worst farm' typically 'has crops'. After the first three components, the main relationship to appear is the parallel tendency of the 'cattle farm' and 'own cattle' on component 4, with -o0-5o8 and -0-748 respectively. Other relationships are obscure. In general, Vaupes may be drier in climate, more remote from markets and later in colonization than the other four areas, but the colonos nevertheless organize their perceived worlds in a manner comparable to Caqueta, Narinio, Putumayo and Meta.
REPERTORY GRIDS AND REGIONAL DIFFERENCES

Colombia is racially and historically very diverse in regional terms, with the individuality of culture groups having been much heightened by physical inaccessibility and even by variety of physical environment (see Fig. i). Regional stereotypes are an important component of Colombian culture today. But the historically occupied part of the country is the Andean region, from which colonosare continually spilling to the tropical rainforest: in these 'frontier' regions, colonos from different source areas meet and mix. The actual mix varies between zones of colonization on a fairly simple gravity model basis (INCORA, 1974). Thus these regions differ not only in the geographical ways outlined above, but in their human composition.

Perceived worldsof colonists 449 III in will show A briefinspection the loadings Appendix for the different of regions are the outlined above,contrasts not as greatas mightbe exthat, immediately despite details stratified the five areasto test the technique against by pected.The surveywas deliberately fromfifteeninterviews eacharea.It appears, in in known contrasts so faras this waspossible is for that however, the levelof resolution inappropriate regional study.The setsof individual are informative abouteach with interviews extremely takenin conjunction exhaustive grids the in a descriptive consensus resultsemploying standard but the regional grid region way, in the conceal much.It must,after be remembered anindividual Putumayo, wettest that too all,
area visited, may place as much importanceon 'good water' as a would-be cattle farmerin

the where thereis a drought on may problem; a standard theconstructs score same; grid Vaupes the will thatis, at the detailed differences appear between wholecognitive concerned, systems
level. The strengthof the techniquewould appearto lie in surveysconcernedwith the average of orderingof cognitivesystems (see below) or in the groundwork researchin a 'new' area,to

the educate researcher. in In short,the application repertory of of gridsto smallnumbers respondents fiveareas but of hastendednot to highlight the differences, to emphasize underlying similarity regional theseareareas in because whichhavesimilar worlds thecolono life-situation, perceived possibly
in climates.Analysishas indicateda very consistentfirstcomponent all areas.On this the interest lies not in extractingthe dependentand independentvariablesand thus eliminatinginterdo correlation,but in remarking that, as shown in Figure 5, the colonos consistentlychoose to

muchdetailfroma relatively is extract smallarea.Theirattention strongly on focused a tight of cluster constructs, theytake and considerable to differentiate them.Somesmall between pains
anomalies componentI havebeen referred already, one or two moreappearin Appenon to and dix III. For instance,the Nariiioset of grids differsfrom the rest by havinglowerloadingson 'hasgood house',possiblybeingless status-conscious. Moreexplicably, lowerloadings Caqueta's

on 'hasworkers', and and to couldbe related the achievement planning of 'large' 'hasmoney' creditin encouraging medium-sized, the farmin thisarea:the manwitha family a and family farmof moderate hasa chance create 'goodfarm' size to a evenwithout and 'money' 'workers'. betterthanin otherareas.) (Evenherethe chanceis not good,but it is significantly Vaupes on hasa lower thananyotherarea, it because is at tooearly stage a loading sizeof farm possibly of colonization the latifundia-minifundia for to syndrome havedeveloped yet. tend on of his set, nevertheless, to be the highest all sets.The question the farmer having 'own cattle' inconsistently is on in handled, having loadings allthefirstfourcomponents different high the of reliable also located' wanders sets;thisis perhaps construct least behaviour, although 'badly between components.
the second and third components:the colonos preferto assess a farm above all on what it is The elevenconstructswhich have the highest loadingson componentI for the 'all colonos'

farms whichtendsto dominate firstcomponent. the to Geography be saidto be relegated may

In generalterms, it has been suggestedthat the colonos for togetherhave a value-scaling

in certainstandards, only afterthat on its inherent and characteristics, achieving reaching environment location. and The components the firstare muchless consistent; after physical the secondtendsto carry physical the but and constructs, 'hasforest' 'hascrops'mayappear or separately the secondor third.The very low loadings on of together throughout 'good administration' 'good and condition' thesecond on the distinct showhowcompletely component secondis fromthe first.Thereis rarely substantial a fourthcomponent where V); (Appendix thereis, the fourth,like the thirdhas highloadings one or two of the constructs on already recognizedas erratic. 'Fringe' constructsthus contrast with the central, consistent core.

450

JANET G.TOWNSEND
ALTERNATIVE GROUPINGS OF COLONOS

Other differences in sets of colonos proved unproductive for analysis: a rather sophisticated set of classificatory variables would be required. Simple holding size, for instance, appears to be a weak explanatory variable: colonos owning or managing large holdings were certainly more likely to have cattle, the land being used as collateral for credit, but their grids closely parallel those of the colonoswith small holdings. This may be significant: possibly the small farmer is retaining a world view appropriateonly to the large farmer. Age appears to have no significance; possibly the number interviewed is too small. Other apparently simple variables discriminate unsuitably: thus the older colonotends to be less literate, but not necessarily less likely to attend to advice from the agriculturalprogrammes on his transistor radio (a major source of innovation). Carefully designed socio-economic variables are required here, but there is much higher resistance to answering such questions than to completing a grid, as they are thought to be associated with taxation; a survey approach would have met much evasion and refusal, and rendered the interviews impossibly long.
COLONOS AND OFFICIALS

For many years all personnel in agriculturalextension associated with colonization assumed that the colonowas traditional and irrational in his behaviour. The myth survives. Senior INCORA personnel were interested in this survey and kindly gave great assistance, but invariably the junior officials in actual contact with the colonosconsidered the survey as impossible to accomplish; they felt that the colonoswould be unable to answer these difficult questions, unable to articulate their beliefs. Ten officials in contact with the colonos were therefore asked to supply grids; their consensus analysis appears in Figure 6 and Appendix III (the reversal of the hemispheres has no significance). Graphically and statistically it is apparent that these officials perceive 'what makes a farm' very much as do the 70 colonosof the survey when analysed by the standard grid. As we have seen, the officials did supply different constructs in addition to the standard grid, but they were only a small group of respondents and produced no new constructs standard to themselves; their additional elicited constructs varied as much between officials as with the colonos.The officials have much the same first component as the colonos,with management factors ranked high above environmental factors, and indicators such as 'good condition' linked to management, not natural endowment. However, water, land and terrain have higher

A Position of element

* Pole of construct

3 components 86% component space

6. FIGURE Consensus of set of all officials. Composite diagramfor components i, 2 and 3

45I the loadingson the firstcomponentfor the officias than for any set of the colonos; officialsalso much less emphasison 'good house' and, interestingly size of farm,which has a place enough, higher loading on the officials'second componentthan the first. The officials'second comhavebeenlost to the first,andalthough ponentseemsverydifferent; goodwater,landandterrain 'has forest'appears the second,'hascrops'is relegated the third;the officials interested on to are in cattle,althoughthey leavemuch of the variation 'has own cattle'to the fourthcomponent. on (This last constructremainsan enigmain behaviour.)The individualgrids of the officialsare both morecomplexandless internally consistentthanthoseof the colonos, becausetheir probably lives are less filled with the perceivedworldsto which they are referring. The life of the colono much overshadowed naturalcatastrophe, marketcontrolledto is a by favourthe urbandweller,and interminable creditproblems.On a smallscale, INCORAandthe I.B.R.D. have shown somethingof what can be achievedwith credit, in Caqueta.It can be for arguedthat it is now time for the extensionofficialto cease blamingthe colono irrationality and concentrate insteadon the colono's faith in the value of management. Researchactivity,on the other hand, should recognizethat officialsand colonos alike associategood management of with cattleand freedomfromweeds, and shouldinvestigate assumption. this tropicalrainforest Generalization socio-economic on structuresare easily made. It can be suggestedthat, as land reformin the populousAndeanregionsof Colombiais slow and expensive,it would be preferableto deploy the same resourcesin supportof the colonos(Eidt, 1967). Conversely,it can be statedthat to financecolonization ratherthan land reform,as INCORA has to some extent done, is to take the line of least resistancein a nationof asymmetrical powerrelationships thinkers such as Professor Guhl maydeprecate colonization (Duff, 1968).At a tangent,ecological of these regionsin general,as quotedabove.All this, however,is to neglect the understanding of the colonos themselvesand theirperceivedworlds.It can be arguedthat this understanding is of the firstimportance. Some maywish to reformstructures interiorcolonialism Colombia of in (Havensand Flinn, I970); others may wish to halt colonization (Guhl, I968). Neither of these wishes are likely to be achievedin the immediatefuture. The path of politicaland economic could be made in the expediencyis to continue to assist the colono,and great improvements of world-view. efficiencyof this assistancewith a betterunderstanding the colono
CONCLUSIONS

Perceived worlds of colonists

This surveybeganwith four hypotheses.First, it was knownthat in Colombiathe colono,the man who is openingup new environments agriculture, commonlyregardedas 'irrational to is and traditional' his behaviour; in thereis a commonoralsuggestionthat the colonos to raise fail their standards living and to becomea new middleclass becausethey are out of touch with of that the colonos reality.It was positedfromfield experience recognizethe realityof theiradverse situation and seek practical means to escape it. The World Bank (1972) and INCORA (1974) admit that the colono is adversely situated in the national economy as well as in the naturalenvironment.Results from the survey suggest that the colono's aims and ideals arerealistic,thathis cognitivesystemis well organized regards as evaluation farms,and above of all that there are strong similaritiesin this area between the perceivedworld of the colono and that of the Colombianagricultural extensionofficer.As these similarities unrecognized, go the point is of the utmostimportance. a separate As and point, this not to say that colono official are makingthe best of the situation;indeed,economistand ecologistalikemight maintainthat colonoand officialare satisficing,not optimizing,and that an optimal solutionwould resolve such problemsas the difficulty accessto creditand the inappropriateness cattlefarmsto the of of But is and so tropicalrainforest. if the colono 'traditional irrational', is the official,for theirviews are fundamentally same. the

452

JANET G.TOWNSEND

Second, it was thoughtthat the colonois deeplyconcernedwith the detailsof his physical
environment; this would certainly appear to be the case from his conversation. The survey

this did not substantiate hypothesisand went someway to contravene certainly the level of at it, far abovephysicalendowment. of and Third,it washopedthatthe studyof the colonos'evaluation farmson the frontier their in this realm would assist the developmentagenciesin raising productivityand perceptions of the standards living amongthe colonos; intentionwas to identifyconstructive aspectsof the It is consideredfrom the survey colonos' which the agenciescould profitably support. thinking and (b) cattle to the colonos that the recognitionof the importanceof (a) farm management is essentialto progress. Lastly, it was posited that in testing these hypothesesthe problemof the cross-cultural of situationcould be resolved,at least in part, by the application repertory grid techniques.It This is potentiallya most importantdevelopis suggestedthat they provedmost appropriate. with not problems, ment,openingrepertory methodology, onlyto geographers cross-cultural grid and in but to specialistsin colonization, agriculture in the tropics. In behavioural geography, of much work has been carriedout on theoreticalimplications personalconstructtheory,but of grids has been confinedto small, atypicalgroupsin highly urbanized real-world application and wealthysocieties;valuableexamplesare Hudson's26 Bristolstudents(Hudson, I974) and accountmay be found in Sarre'sgroup of middle-classhousewivesin Bath; a comprehensive
the major review articles by Harrison and Sarre (I97I, I975). It is possible that the repertory

resolution of evaluating a group of farms. The colono,like the official, ranks farm management

and the grid deservesin geography role it has in psychiatry psychology:that of a well-triedtool in both theoreticaland substantiveresearch.Its greatestremainingpotentialappearsto be worldsrecorded the repertory can be measured in comparative workwherethe perceived grid by and againstspatialdatasuch as landuse, actionspace,migration otherfunctionsof actualhuman tool in preliminary behaviour.The repertorygrid will also be an important stagesof research in aloneit can be of majorassistance research of work,wherein the elicitation constructs design, at is includingworkwheresurveyresearch appropriate laterstages. the Aboveall, if a geographer commentoutsidegeography, repertory methodology grid may uses it: not only to identifyweaknesses can be used, as in this article,as a clinicalpsychologist the andaberrations to understand positive,constructive but aspectsof the worldview of a human groupor individual,so that it is possibleto deploythese ratherthan to medicatethe symptoms of failure.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is most grateful to the S.S.R.C. who financed this project, to St George's Hospital, London, for computing, to officialsof INCORA and particularlyto Miss E. A. Allen, field assistant, Don Victor Paredes, courier, A. R. Townsend, adviser on survey research and Dr. R. Hudson, adviser on repertory grids. Thanks are due to Durham University for assistance with the cost of illustrations. NOTES
i. The word colonohas many connotations in Colombia from 'colonist' to 'squatter'; it is used through this paper

to denote farmers active on the frontiers of settlement. 2. Institutions: CID: Centro de Investigacionespara el Desarrollo, Universidad Nacional, Bogota. I.B.R.D.: InternationalBank for Reconstruction and Development. IICA: Instituto Interamericanode Ciencias Agricolas de la Organizacionde Estados Americanos(O.A.S.). INCORA: Instituto Colombiano de la Reforma Agraria REFERENCES D. (London) BANNISTER, and MAIR, J. M. (eds) (I968) The evaluationof personalconstructs I. BOWMAN, (I9I6) The Andes of SouthernPeru (New York) S. CH-TWYND, J. (I974) 'Generalized grid technique', St George's Hospital, London (mimeo.)

Perceived worldsof colonists

453

CID (1974) La colonizacionen Colombia (Bogota) E. CRIST, R. and GUHL, (1957) 'Pioneer settlement in eastern Colombia', Rep. Smithson.Inst. 1956, 391-414 (New York) DUFF, E. A. (1968) Agrarianreformin Colombia EIDT, R. C. (I967) 'Modern colonization as a facet of land development in Colombia', Yrb.Ass. Pacif: CoastGeogr.29, 21-42 FEDER,E. (1973-74) 'Six plausible theses about the peasants' perspectives in the developing world', Develop. Change 5 (2)
1-24

FLINN, W. L. and CARTANO, D. G. (1970) 'A comparison of the migration process to an urban barrio and to a rural com-

munity: two case studies', Inter-Am. econ. Affairs, 24 (2) 37-48

E. GUHL, (I968) 'Colombia, bosquejo de su geografia tropical', Universidad Nacional, Bogota GUHL, E. (1974) 'El poblamiento, la tenencia y el uso de la tierra en Colombia', in CID, op cit. E. BORDA,O and UMANA LUNA, (1962) 'La violencia en Colombia', Universidad Nacional, Bogota GUZMAN, FALS G., P. HARRISON, A. and SARRE, (1971) 'Personalconstruct theory in the measurementof environmentalimages: problems and J. methods', Environ.Behav. 3, 351-74 P. HARRISON, J. A. and SARRE, (I975) 'Personalconstruct theory in the measurementof environmentalimages: applications', Environ.Behav. 7, 3-58 and structuralchangein Coldmbia HAVENS,A. E. and FLINN, W. L. (eds) (1970) Internalcolonialism (New York) HUDSON, R. (1974) 'Images of the retailing environment', Environ.Behav. 6, 470-94 A. A. HUMBOLDT, VON and BONPLAND, (I818-I829) Personalnarrativeof travelsto the equinoctial regionsof the New Continent ... (London) I.B.R.D. (1972) Economic growthof Colombia(Baltimore) Vols I, 2 (New York) KELLY, G.A. (1955) Thepsychologyof personalconstructs, IICA, see INCORA INCORA (I974) La colonizacionen Colombia,Vols I, 2 (Bogotai) INCORA with IICA (I974) Seminarionacionalsobrecriterios de para programas colonizacion,Vols I, 2 (Bogoti) NELSON,M. (1972) The development tropicallands: policy issues in Latin America(Baltimore) of PEREZ E. ARBELAEZ,(1948) Hilea Magdalenesa(Bogota) del Ruiz, A. M. (1972) Algunos factores queafectanlas colonizacidnes Caquetd Putumayoen Colombia y (IICA-CIRA, Bogoti) P. SLATER, (1972) 'Notes on INGRID 72', Institute of Psychiatry, London (mimeo.) SLATER,P. (1974) 'Composite diagrams and systems of angular relationships applying to grids', Institute of Psychiatry, London (mimeo.) R. Tost, J. A. and VOERTMAN, F. (1964) 'Some environmentalfactors in the economic development of the tropics', Econ. Geogr.40, 189-205 TOWNSEND, G. (1976) 'Farm "failures": the applicationof personal constructs in the tropical rainforest',Area 8, 219-22 J. TowNSEND, G. (1977) 'Land and society in the Middle Magdalena Valley, Colombia', unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. J. of Oxford WESr,R. (I952) The Pacific Lowlandsof Colombia(Baton Rouge) APPENDIX I

in GRIFFIN,K. (1969) Underdevelopment Spanish America(London) GRIFFIN, K. (1974) Thepolitical economy agrarianchange(Cambridge, Mass.) of

Elicited constructs:pre-test From thirteen farmers Io 3 2 3 I I 3 8 I 4

2 2 I

Constructs elicited in pre-test I. Limpia 2. Tierrabuena Tierra buenapara ganado Tierra buenapara cultivos Da de todo Pedregosa Carecevegetales 3. Buen terreno Plana Tiene mesdnes Tiene vega Pantanosa Inundable Tiene lagunas Clean (v. weedy, forested) Good land Good land for cattle Good land for crops Yields anything Gravelly Lacks humus Good terrain Flat Has terraces Has flood-plain Swampy Liable to flood Has lakes

From two INCORA officials

Constructs employedin surveygrid Clean-Limpia Good landTierra buena

Good terrainBuen terreno

X

454

JANET

G.TOWNSEND I (cont.) From thirteen farmers 6 4 i I 1 7 7

10
I I 2
I

APPENDIX

Constructs elicited in pre-test 4. Tieneagua Suficienteagua Accesoal rio/aguagrande Demasiadoagua 5. Grande 6. Casa buena buena 7. Administracion Organisada Buen maneiode ganado Buen hombre 8. Tiene montana Arta montana Tiene rastrojo 9. Ya hecha Io. Tieneplata
i . Lucrativa
12. Mal situada

From two INCORA officials

I 2

Constructs employedin surveygrid Good waterAguas buenas

Has water Enough water River water Too much water Large area Good house Good management Well organized Good cattle management Good man Has forest Much forest Has second-growth Farm now made Farmer has money Farm pays Inaccessible Good condition Good cattle

Large-Grande Good houseCasa buena Good managementadministracion buena

Has forestTiene montana Farm completeYa hecha Has moneyTieneplata Farm paysLucrativa InaccessibleMal situada Good conditionBuen estado Good cattleBuen ganado Has cropsTiene cultivos Own cattleGanadopropio Has cattleTieneganado

3
2

I I

I 4 I
2

I3. Buen estado I4. Buen ganado 15. i6.

I7. Tiene ganado

Has cattle Many cattle Good pasture Has pasture Workersemployed Attractive Pasture rotation Has fences Well-constituted Can be mechanized Technified Has corrals Owns business

I
I

Muchoganado Pastos buenos Tienepasto i8. Trabajadores Bonita Rotacion Tiene cercas Bien constituida Se puede mecanizar Tecnificada Tienecorrales Tiene negocio

4
I

6
I 2

I I

WorkersemployedTrabajadores No constructs on grid

3 3

worldsof colonists Perceived

APPENDIX II Constructs elicited in additionto main grid Farmers Oficials Tienepasto Mucho abierto Abandonada Muy trabajador Vive en la finca Muchopasto Sabanas Frutales Mas valor Potreros Pastos artificiales Maquinaria Vive de la finca Cultivada Gran porvenir Muchoganado De aqui Muchostrabajadores Trapiche Produccionmaxima Organisada Tiene cercas Palma africana Tiene negocio Ganadode ceba Ganadode leche Mas ayuda Perdida Fundador/comprador Tecnificada Mas mejorada Buen paraje Rastrojo Bien sembrada Mal vecino Mejorespastos Tiene dali Tienegrama Tiene baldios Ganadode cria Buen clima Tiene caaa Tiene riego Tiene caminos Se puede mecanizar Emprendedor Intere's Vivia afuera Responsable Politico Mas educacion Amor al campo Trabajaafuera de la finca Prestatarioviejo Se dedica Buen matrimonio Buen patron Has pasture Much land cleared Farm abandoned Owner works hard Owner lives on farm Much pasture Natural pasture Grows fruits Farm more valuable Paddocks Artificial pastures Machinery Lives on produce of farm Cultivated Great future Many cattle Farmer locally born Many workers hired Has sugar mill Maximum production Well organized Has fences Has African palm Has business Cattle fattening Milch cattle More official credit Lost Founder v. buyer Technified Farm more improved Good appearance Has second growth Well sown Bad neighbour Better pastures Has 'dali' pasture Has 'grama'pasture Borders on unclaimed land Cattle breeding Good climate Has sugar cane Has irrigation Has trails Can be mechanized Enterprising owner Interested owner Has lived outside region Responsible owner Owner politically involved More educated owner Country-loving owner Works off farm Has borrowed from INCORA for years Dedicated farmer Good marriage Good boss
IO

455

Total
IO

9 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 4
2

3 3
i

I
2

9 7 7 6 5 5 5 4 4 4

3 4 4 3 3
2

4
4 4 3 3

I I
2

3
3 3 3

3
2 I 2

I I
I

3
3

3
2 I 2 2 I 2 2 2 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

3
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

456

JANET

G.TOWNSEND

APPENDIX III extracted onfirst threeprincipalcomponents from sets of grids Loadings Colonos: 70 grids i Component Elements Worst farm Best farm Cattle farm Ideal farm Neighbour A Live well Neighbour B Own farm Old farm Neighbour C Constructs Has cattle Good house Farm pays Has workers Complete Large Good condition Good cattle Good administration Clean Has money Own cattle Badly located Good water Good land Good terrain Has forest Has crops
2 Component Elements Old farm Live well Own farm Neighbour C Neighbour B Cattle farm Best farm Ideal farm Neighbour A Worst farm

iaIs Offic : io grids

Colonos: Caquetd

Nanrifo

ltmy Ptmy

Mea ea

Vus Vu~

2-3669
-

2-26895
1P5232

P5950
1P0432

I-9479 -PI7970

i62i8
-PI1014

0-5642
0-7496
-0-0251

011i96
-1I0374

-0o-8442
- 10531
I10925

i19671 - 12694 -1-4320

-0O9037

- 2-3025 0'5035 0-0594

-

2-1146
P1I701 1-1009 IP2320

-0o9812 0-5965 - 03396

0'3247 0'3235 0-3121 O00353

-0O-368
-0-0700

0-4232
-1P1463

0-3119 0-2962 -0O-3453

0-7384

0-3191
0-0321

0-84i8
-00394

-01 i804 -00-891 0-8i23

-0O-9997

0-5360

o-6i62 - 00o967 0-I570

0-I247

0-690i

0-4568
0-8023 0-5659

0-7632
0-0920

O'5537 -0O-2797 - 0-5863 - 00233

- 03853

-0-3628

0-9773 0-9676 0-9670

0-9636

0-9555 - 0-9519 - 094I11 -0-93I2 - 0-9312 - 09222

-

0-8950 0-6029 0-8135 0-9683 0-9695 0-62.9i 0-9693 o-889i

0'9791

- o-888o
-0-9363
-0O9331

-0-9039 -0-7831
- 09142 -0O7534 -0o-8537

-0O92-57

-0o9687
-0o-8949

-0o-6I03
-0-9124 -0O-7739

- 09360
-0O-9393

0-8384 0-6849
0'5705 0'4414 0'4319 o-i827 0-1405

0-9582 0-9883
0-3092

-0o-8971 -0-9466 -0o-8882 -0-8740 -0o-620I

-0-2965 0'2202

-0-72.64 -0o-8757
-0O9451

-0-7119 o-8i6o
0-7014 o-656i

- 0-5308
-0-5124 -0-5113

- o-86o6 - 0-3660 - 0-3878 -0o-8657 0-5i87 -0-4269

-0o-6935

-0o-8I92 -0o-8906 -0o9874 -0o-8871 -0o-8202 - 0-9756

-0O-7915

0-7608 0-8303 0-8309 090o62 0-8537 0-8763 0-9697

0'5555

0'9309 0-9295 0'9331

0-9158
0'7717

0-6336
0-945 5 0-8170 0-9I02

0-9558 0-9036
0-7062
-

0-8363
0'9331 0-0842

0-4877
-0O-7404

0-6239 o-o86o
0'5537

-0-83I7
0'7449 0-4228 0-0278
0'5479

- 0-5496
-0-3200

0-6329 oo658
0-0672 0-4020

0-0296

-0-0728 01I782

-0o-28i9
- 02502

-0-5589 -0-3385 -0-4789

-0-4207
0-3I92

00792

I12518 0-8549 07678 0-6493

0-5947 0-4242
0'3933 01I220

1-3528
0-0070

-1I0705 -0-7311 I10195

0-6536
o-68io -0-7467 -0o-6157 -11-288 o-8971 -0-0510
0'5430 0-5047 -0O-7372

I-5448
0-0177 0'1935
-

0-0393

0-0386

N.A. -0-83I0 - 04069 -o0-0156 -010105 0-31136 -o-io8o

- 01214

0-4A83
0-4220

-0-2874 -0o2606
01422

0-8789 0-6327 0-6603 0-6943 03875 0-4853 0-0839

I-2335 0-7283
-

0-6740

0-6465
0-1929

-o0-i647
-

-PI0734
-0O2002

0'0454
-

-01I786
-0O-2575

01924
0'2747

0-0348

013831 0-3338 0-4984

- 0-3478 -0-5662

-01'l597
-

- 0-4221 0'3953

Constructs Has forest Good terrain Good water Has good land Has crops Has money Clean Good cattle Badly located Has workers Complete

09090o

o-869i

-0o-8294 -o-6718
-0-2604

0-7078 0-6409

-0o-8659 -0o-8ol7

- 03675

0-8547

0-7825
0-6140 0-9402 -0-7267 0-2895
0-0755 - 0-2800

-0o-8i86
-0o-6938 -0-7382 -0o-8737
0'4104
-0-I254

- o-8668 -0-5487
-0-5788 0-4604 - 0-0381i
0-3410 0-I149

0-2352 0-3808

0-9287

o-8136 0-7402 0'4313 0'2349 0-2896 0-2277

0-6097
- 01902

0362:2 - 07015 - 0-8227

03498
0'4149

0-089i
0-173I -0O3079

0-5762
01090o

0-5475 0-4095 01349

0-0748 o-I586 01I582 02694

0-1820

o0i666

-0-0742 -0o-0898 0-1276

-0-6467 0-1383

-o-i6io o-6iii 0-3347

o-6850 0-3358 0-2078

04641 - o-o6i2
-

o-o6oi
-01l400

worldsof colonists Perceived

APPENDIX Constructs(cont.) Farm pays Good house Own cattle Large Has cattle Good administration Good condition Component 3 Elements Old farm Worst farm Cattle farm Ideal farm Own farm Live well Neighbour B Neighbour C Neighbour A Best farm Constructs Has crops Badly located Good terrain Has money Good condition Good administration Clean Has forest Complete Large Has cattle Own cattle Good land Has workers Good water Good cattle Good house Farm pays - 00305
- 0o212I 7172 - 04975 0'1939 - 0-0696 0o0589

457

III (cont.) 0-2915

03792 -03538 -o-oi88
0-2025

0-1588
o-II04 0o-848 0-0784 - o00543 0-0387 -00oo25

o0I039
0-3721 0'5991 - -6482 - 03006 -I 0159 0-276

0'3358
-o0-o64 -00574 -0-4120 0'2794 034Io 03162

0-4238
0-2053 -04814 0-2082 o02646 -0-0272 - o00953

o01380
o0597 0o3063 -0-6154 -0-2104 -0-I227 - 01400

o01819g 0-1622

-0-6929 0-5164 0-4126 0-4085

-0'2690

-04270 0-2440
0-3226

0-2589 -0-2240 -0oI833 -0o1295 -o o98I

-0I553 N.A. 1 oo86 -0-0329 -0-6190 -0-0363 -000o87

0'2799 5624 -o01511 0-4815 0-4738 0-4638 - 0-I943 -0-0223 o00499 - o8189

0'4197 -05067 - 03506 -0-1450 o08236 - o0145 -o05280 0-5084 0-4197

-0'3450

- 02299 -03168 -o-o872 0-I648

0o9205

0395 -0'4026 o00473 o02854 -03420

-0

0O9194 -0-0142 -04531 - 05044 -0 5972 0-2338 0-0721 0o-656 0-4496 - 01715

o07452 -0-7180 - '1944 -0-o998

o01792

- 03753 0I596 0-1032 o05394 - '3391

- 062I I -0-6054 0'3359 0-2578 - '2543 -0'2442 -0-2363

0-2101

-08596 0-3887 -0-2585 0'4545 o01064 - 00014 0-0517

0-2882

- -00841 - 07776 -0-2810 -0-1875 0-3263 0-3408 0-2538

-03183

0'4227

0-3659 o-o658 - 0-2130 0-3288 0-3348 0-6679

- 0-2422

0o5855 -0'3900 -0-2 114 - 0-1242 -0-0709 0O1949 0'0579

0-7204

0-1262

0-8154 -05567 0-0978 0-0415 0-1360 0o'286

-6024

0'7759 - ooo65 - 0-1970 -0 3323 01593 0o2574 02958

-o-I618

-0o1977 01I759 0-1756 -0-1591 -0'1395

0'I28I

-0'0577 0-3120 o-i668 0-1405 -03500 0'1391 - 04315 0-0248 0'3772

-0-0212

-0-0464 -0-2800 -0'1355 - O'5354 - 0'4430 -0'1785

-0-'I26

o'3211 - 0632I -03496 -o-io68

0-0126

-0'0526 o-ooo6
o01124

-0o0882 0-0717 0-0448 -o-oi66

o-o064 0-1510
0-1920

- o-665 0-1233 - 0-2639 0'3047 - o00405

-04561 0-0036 0-048I -0-0051 -0-0092 01575 - o-694

- OooIO - 02330 - 03099 0-2938

0-1312

o-Iio6 -0-2412
-o02043

0'3731 0'3716
- o02832

- 01887 - 03925 0098I - 0-1260 0-2398

0-3146 -0-3115 0-2115 - o02584

458

JANET

G.TOWNSEND IV

APPENDIX

Percentageof variationexplainedbyfirst threecomponents All colonos Constructs Clean Good land Good terrain Good water Large Good house Good administration Has forest Complete Has money Farm pays Bad location Good cattle Good condition Has crops Own cattle Has cattle Has labourers Elements Own farm Best farm Worst farm Ideal farm Cattle farm Live well Neighbour A Old farm Neighbour B Neighbour C 96 86 90 94 94 94 92 88 98 96 96 73 96 94 94 5o 98 98 All officials 96 98 94 92 92 64 98 77 94 88 98 66 Caquetd 92 83 76 90 92 94 90 69 85 92 90
72 92

Narino 76 96 96 86 92 85 88 92 94 96 92
42 90

Putumayo 92 64 90 85 85 96 94 82 92 96 94 86
90

Meta 88 go 46 59 86 74 94 42 8i 85 92 7I 96
32

Vaupes 8I 49 9o 77 85 94 90 90 98
92

96
88 8i 48
92

96 N.A. 88 98 64 56 go
2

go90 96 88 85 83 74 98 98 84 92 76 48 92 52 26

98 96 88 98 96 82 86 94 88
90

98 65 85 94 94
90

85 71 74 88

96 69 94 98 9o
24

96 92

64 92
X00

79
90

92 83 98 67 86

96 59 88

90 94 90 8I 90

85 98 72 85 88 67
oo00

66 62

64 79 94 62 85 76 69 79 4 50

64 8i 98 8I 77 76 67 94 49 66

APPENDIX

Percentages variationtaken out by components of Component All colonos

I 2

Officials 60o48 15-82 10-45 86-75 6.40 6.85

Caquetd
5oI8

Narino 50o63 27'79 10'73 89'15 5'91 4'94

Putumayo 62-78 I7'42 7'78 87'98 4-87 7'I5

Meta 50-16 I4'6 Io-88

75'20

Vaupes 55'o4 I8'95 9'63 83-62 6-50 9'88

3
I, 2 and 3

4 Rest

60-99 22'30 741 90o70 5-62 3'62

26'5I
0oo00

86-69
5'10

9'75
15'05

8'2I