Report of the Ethnographic Field School in Belize (Summer 2021)

Abstract

This report documents the findings of the Ethnographic Field School in Belize organized by the Center for Applied Anthropology (CfAA) at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) in Orange Walk District, Belize, during summer 2021. Ethnographic interviews were conducted within the communities of San Estevan, San Lazaro, and San Pablo in cooperation with the Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute (SIRDI), Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA), Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association (PSCPA), and the three communities within which interviews took place. This field season’s research focused on the following topics: job opportunities, children’s educational support, child labor, alcohol/drug use, climate change, farmers association investment, garbage disposal, COVID's1 effect on the community, farmers association meeting attendance and association concerns, and networks of information sharing. This report presents the preliminary findings of the 2021 field season and recommends topics of research for the next field season.