Economies of honey at the agrarian commodity frontier

At agrarian commodity frontiers, multiple life forms intersect and produce different arrangements amidst the tensions of converging social-ecological crises. These crises are linked to rapid land-use changes due to the deforestation of highly biodiverse areas, the overexploitation of natural resources, and the expansion of monocrops of agricultural commodities. The literatures on agrarian change and extractivism show that the expansion of agrarian commodity frontiers often deteriorates Indigenous people’s diversified livelihoods, due to their close interdependence with biodiversity. Yet, some studies have shown that diverse relations persist and support the interrelated lives of human and non-human beings amidst the territorial devastation. In particular, a general focus on the material conditions of economic reconfigurations at the frontiers risks overlooking the diversity of economic practices and values and their immaterial manifestations. It is key to acknowledge people’s experiences of different affections, reactions, and frictions involving their relations among humans and with non-humans, which do not simply wait to be used as resources for extractivism. To understand the diversity of economies unfolding at agrarian commodity frontiers, there is a need to assess: (1) how economic values and practices go beyond commodification and can involve hu-man and non-human agencies (i.e. more-than-human agencies); (2) how diverse economies emerge in adverse contexts of extractivism and commodification; (3) how everyday experiences and practic-es can shape territorial and place relations. My research addresses these needs by drawing on the literature on diverse economies, more-than-human assemblages, and agrarian extractivism. In this thesis, I investigate people’s experiences of more-than-human entanglements in their everyday economic lives at Bolivia’s most active agrarian commodity frontier, the Chiquitanía. I posit that eco-nomic life goes well beyond the spheres of commodity production and monetarized market relations.