Consequences of the mining for the
Yanomami and their environment
Introduction
Given the specific objective of this survey,
i.e. to provide a base of knowledge for the implementation of an environmental
recuperation and management programme in the areas that were affected by gold-mining
between 1988 and 1998 and are still inhabited by Yanomami on the Alto Mucajaí,
we have focused this analysis primarily on the situation of the Tirei
theripë. In fact both the Yaritha theripe (ex-Wiramapiu theripë) and
the Xereu theripë decided
to abandon the area affected by gold-mining in the 1990s, only the Tirei theripë opting to remain
in the degraded area, preferring not to lose their easy access to the health
and economic benefits associatyed with proximity to the assistence infrastructure
(originally FUNAI-FNS, now FUNAI and URIHI) that was established in the region
in 1990.
[1]
The Tirei and the garimpo
Initially the Tirei (like other Yanomami) got on well with the garimpeiros, deceived as to their intentions and expecting to maintain a relationship of coexistence and exchange of goods. As they themselves relate: “we weren’t very wise at this time; we thought that the garimpeiros were ‘real whites’ (napëpë yai),[2] good people, friends who would want to exchange goods with us.” Thus the Yanomami gave food to the first few garimpeiros in exchange for tools, pans, hammocks, shotguns, cartridges etc. The rapid increase in their numbers, however, together with the construction of the airstrips, made the situation much more tense, with recurring situations of conflict.
In spite of this context of social tension and increased pressure on their resources, the Tirei attempted to adapt their system of productivity to the garimpo occupation, at the price of important sacrifices but with the benefit of a certain modus vivendi with the intruders. They continued to extract a regular supply of merchandise (matihipë) from the garimpeiros as well as some food (rice, farinha, salt etc.), always in exchange for small services (water, firewood, cooking, cleaning etc.) or exchanges (game and other products from the forest or from their gardens).
The equilibrium of this situation was
always precarious and by no means idyllic: constantly under threat from the
growing white population in the area, the progressive increase in disease
(influenza, malaria), conflicts over exchanges, and garimpeiro aggression.
However, apart from occasional threats there were no direct acts of
violence towards the Tirei (unlike
the Hoomoxi theripë - now Yaritha theripë
- who were involved in three violent conflicts resulting in the deaths of two
Yanomami and three garimpeiros).[3]
This fragile equilibrium was only sustainable at Tirei on account of the relatively short length of time the garimpeiros were there (mid-1988 to early 1990) and the rapid curbing of their growth. In the long term, with progressive expansion of gold mining along the Upper Mucajaí, the Yanomami were over-run by the garimpeiro invasion and were unable to develop the kinds of adaptations that were possible at the beginning of the gold rush.
The diseases brought by the garimpeiro population, which reached epidemic proportions when the majority had already been expelled by the Federal Police and FUNAI, would have wiped out the Yanomami within a few years. The estimate for average mortality among the upland Yanomami communities between 1988 and 1989 was 15%, but in some areas (e.g. Pothomatha in the Surucucus region) this was as high as 60% (see APC, 1990).
It was with the withdrawal of the garimpeiros, and the catastrophic
epidemics that followed in 1990, that the Tirei
began to move away from the vicinity of the Narahipi
u (although, ulike the Xereu and Yaritha theripë,
not away from the area of devastation).
Renewal of contact with white people was a priority, primarily as a
means of optimising their productivity system.
Thus they perceived the new whites who arrived in their lands (i.e. FNS
health workers – fudasao tëhë) not
only as a means of curing the diseases that were destabilising their economy,[4]
but also of food and exchange materials (taking on the role of the garimpeiros). For almost ten years this double demand was the driving force
behind their relationship with white people, creating many conflicts (looting
of the Post and threats to the health teams).
The inefficiency of the health work of these teams led to a very high
mortality rate during the 1990s, and their institution did not give them the
means to satisfy the economic and alimentary demands of the Tirei.
On 5/8/99, for example, the diary of the FNS health post notes: “The
indigenous people of this base (Homoxi) are armed and sometimes threaten our
team with rifles and machetes when we decline to give them hammocks and food.”
From 2000 onwards the considerable improvement in the health situation in the Homoxi region that was achieved by URIHI, and the start of the implementation of an education project by CCPY (and the frst steps in the future environmental recuperation project in collaboration with TNC) have opened paths for the development of new types of relationship with the Yanomami of Homoxi. These are based on a recognition of their rights to dirrerentiated healthcare and education, and their active roles in development of environmental/ economic projects, helping to break down the relationship of paternalistic dependence that, since the time of the garimpo, the Yanomami have had with any non-Yanomami person in their area.
Impact on agriculture and settlement patterns
The first of a series of dramatic impacts that the garimpo had on the Tirei theripë was, as has been mentioned, the destruction of one of their gardens (see Fig. 67). These initial losses were compounded by the pressures on agricultural productivity exerted by the theft of produce and the exchange of food for other goods. This situation induced at least two consequences in terms of settlement paterns and food dependence. The first of these was the progressive migration away from the gardens and settlements that lay in the riverine area, which was increasingly taken over by the miners. This movement was also partly on account of the intense noise produced by the motor pumps and aircraft and the constant traffic of garimpeiros. The movements (e.g. to the Narahipi u – see Fig. 67) increased towards the end of the most intense mining period (1998-9), primarily in the hope of escaping the malaria epidemics.
The second consequence was the increasing dependence of the Yanomami on external sources of food (on account of diminishing agricultural resources, game and fish). This dependence began with the simple offer of food (salt, sugar, rice, tins) by the garimpeiros in order to foster friendly relations with the Yanomami, and as payment for small services, the Yanomami workforce being considered inappropriate for the operation of garimpo machinery.
From 1990 onwards the dynamics of the withdrawal of the Tirei from the Macarrão mining area, combined with their increasing food dependence, drew them progressively towards the new white people in their area. Thus, in January 1990, when the Federal Police/FUNAI teams arrived at Baiano Formiga airstrip to expel the miners, the Tirei abandoned the upper Narahipi u in order to get closer to Baiano Formiga (downstream) – establishing themselves on the lower Xere u and Napëroi u. But, finally, when the FUNAI/FNS teams moved to the Jeremias strip (the new Homoxi Post) this migration had to be reorientated upstream. After separating from the Xereu theripë they moved in stages – first to the Apahipi u and then to the vicinity of the Homoxi airstrip – to their current location.
The insufficient area of gardens cultivated by the Tirei (in proportion to their population), their tendency to move and their propensity towards maintainence of food dependency on the health post, all have their roots in the economic dectructuring and migratory movements indduced by the impact of the garimpo from the end of the 1980s. The diary of the Homoxi helath post thus describes the Tirei on 29/12/94 as “a Yanomami group that has practically ceased planting criops in order to demand it from FUNAI and FNS.”
Impact on water resources
An explanation repeatedly given by the Tirei for why they did not immediately
withdraw from the mining area was that they became rapidly surrounded in the Narahipi u basin, virtually all the
surrounding rivers having become polluted by mining activities (see Fig.
67). The garimpeiros, meanwhile, dug wells in order to supply their own
clean water. Thus the Narahipi u, which the Yanomami tried
(and succeeded) to defend (noamai)
from garimpeiro invasion, became in
effect a sanctuary – the only nearby river from which they could drink, bathe,
fish and collect freshwater crabs and prawns.
As the surrounding rivers became polluted, daily fishing and collecting activities (crabs and tadpoles) became rapidly interrupted - apart from on the Narahipi u and a few streams further downstream (on the left bank of the Mucajaí, outside the mining area).
In addition to these significant restrictions on water resources during the height of the garimpo, there were also significant and long-term effects on the river basin of the Mucajaí and on its fauna (some of these effects have already been discussed under Hydrology and Fishing). Mining had a direct impact on fish populations in the Mucajaí basin, which were killed in large quantities either as a result of being pumped into the forest as part of the extraction process, or else deliberately stranded in dried-up pools in order to furnish a food supply for the garimpeiros. Nevertheless their populations have apparently recovered over the intervening years to the point where they are little different from before the gold rush.
Impact
on plant resources
The main environmental impact of gold mining in the Homoxi region was focused on the river valleys, and consequently it tended only to be the riverine plant species that were significantly affected by gold mining activities. A list of some of the common species that were said to have been found in these areas prior to their destruction by gold-miners is given below.
Only a few species were confined to river banks to such an extent that their presence in the region was significantly affected. One of these was the wild form of Inga edulis. However, although this has apparently almost completely disappeared, it has been effectively replaced by the cultivated form of the same species, which has larger fruit but a smaller stature. This species, which was brought in by garimpeiros for food and readily germinates even in very poor soils, is a dominant component of much of the secondary vegetation in the vicinity of the river. Chrysochlamys membranacea, which has a medicinal use but is not used for food, was also said to have been common in riverine forest and along stream sides but has almost disappeared. Specimens were seen growing in only one undisturbed baixada (damp depression in the forest close to a stream) on the far side of the Mucajaí from the Post.
Table 1: Some tree species previously occurring in the floodplain forests destroyed by gold miners at Homoxi
|
Anacardium giganteum |
Anacardiaceae |
oruxihi |
|
Byrsonima sp. |
Malpighiaceae |
atama asihi |
|
Cecropia sciadophylla |
Moraceae |
kahu usihi |
|
Clathrotropis macrocarpa |
Leguminosae |
wapokohi |
|
Inga acreana |
Leguminosae |
pahihi |
|
Inga edulis |
Leguminosae |
krepu uhi |
|
Inga nobilis |
Leguminosae |
rerokoakasihi |
|
Inga sp. |
Leguminosae |
toxahi |
|
Inga sp. |
Leguminosae |
wakamahi |
|
Micrandra rossiana |
Euphorbiaceae |
momo hi |
|
Micropholis sp. |
Sapotaceae |
yawarahi |
|
Micropholis sp. |
Sapotaceae |
na |
|
Pourouma bicolor |
Moraceae |
momihi mahi |
|
Pourouma cf cucura |
Moraceae |
maxitema ahi |
|
Pourouma cf guianensis |
Moraceae |
hayamasihi |
|
Pseudolmedia laevigata |
Moraceae |
hayihi |
|
Pseudolmedia laevis |
Moraceae |
asoasi hi |
|
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
|
Unknown |
Unknown |
p |
|
‘Wild avocado’ |
Lauraceae |
ahõi hi |
Table 2: Fungi found on rotten tree trunks on the river banks, and the species on which they grow
|
am |
yorokoxihi (Vataireopsis
sp.?) |
|
haya kasik |
momohi (Micrandra
rossiana) |
|
haya yamokak |
momohi (Micrandra
rossiana) |
|
mahekoma k |
xitokomahi (Swartzia
schomburgkii) |
|
moxirima amok |
momohi (Micrandra
rossiana) |
|
na |
momohi (Micrandra
rossiana) |
|
pokara amosik |
kahu usihi (Cecropia
sciadophylla) |
|
ũkũmũrima k |
wapokohi (Clathrotropis
macrocarpa) |
|
uxipirima amok |
wapokohi (Clathrotropis
macrocarpa) |
|
waharima k |
hokotihi |
|
x |
krepu uhi (Inga
edulis) |
Socratea exorrhiza, a species of palm used by the Yanomami in house construction (and also as a source of famine food), is commonly found in baixadas in Brazilian Amazonia. It can also be found growing in terra firme forest, however, as is the case at Homoxi. According to the Yanomami this was common along the margins of watercourses in the region, but has now become scarce. This was partly the result of deforestation for mining activities, but also of its use by the miners for building their own accommodation.[5]
Another species whose abundance was said to
have been affected by its consumption by garimpeiros
was the fish poison vine Lonchocarpus
sp (kuna ãthe). Of all the fish poison species used by the
Yanomami this is the most widely known by outsiders, and its vulnerability was
presumably increased by the fact that it tends to grow near watercourses. It is now absent from the central Homoxi
region and is occasionally brought in from Yaritha,
in the Orinoco basin[6].
Impact
on game resources
The dense presence of garimpeiros in the Mucajaí basin during the gold rush rapidly resulted in heavy pressure on game resources. The first animals to flee were those in the riverine areas, which were scared away by the noise of the machinery and aeroplanes etc. These were also the first to feel the pressure from over-hunting once the garimpeiros started to seek their own food. According to the Yanomami, the garimpeiros hunted “with many shotguns” not only by day but also by night (with torches). They also commonly used traps made from shotguns tied to trees and activated by long strings. These efficient techniques and high hunting levels rapidly resulted in overexploitation in the area.
The following animals were said to be the preferred food of the garimpeiros: guans, curassow, tinamous, macaws, paca, agouti, acouchy, rabbits, nocturnal armadillos, giant anteater, deer, tapir, peccaries, caiman and wild cats (for their teeth and skins).
A full list of the game species hunted by the Yanomami is given in Appendix 10. For cultural reasons, many of the animals appreciated by the Yanomami were not taken by the garimpeiros. These included most species of monkeys (which tended only to be shot “for fun” or “just out of cruelty”), sloths, smaller anteaters, coati, kinkajou, tayra, otters, capybaras (also occasionally shot “for no reason”), porcupine, smaller tinamous, wood-quails, parrots, toucans, smaller birds and snakes. These animals, which had merely been displaced by the garimpeiros (as opposed to over-hunted) were in a better position to return to the area after the end of the garimpo.
Over-exploitation of game by the Yanomami, on the other hand, was focused on a relatively restricted number of species and caused some to disappear from the region. These included some of the less mobile larger species such as the giant anteater, the larger armadillos (great long-nosed, giant) and the caiman. Caiman were, as the Yanomami put it, “inhabitants of the river and therefore had nowhere to flee.”
Among the favourite game animals of the Yanomami certain populations appear to have been more affected more significantly, their populations still not having recovered to pre-garimpo levels. These include the cats, collared peccaries and capuchin monkeys. Others, such as brocket deer, tapir, paca, agouti, acouchy, smaller armadillos and the game birds, have recovered more successfully. However, more in-depth biological studies would be necessary in order to understand better these observations on game recuperation (which were provided by Yanomami hunters), and moreover, to provide explanations for them.
Peccary disappearance
One of the most significant faunal events that took place in the Yanomami area at the time of the gold rush was the total disappearence of the white-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari. This animal, which was once common in the region and formed a significant part of the Yanomami diet,[7] has not been seen since. Similar disappearances for periods of around 10 years have been recorded in other parts of Latin America in the past, including Manu in Peru and the Siona-Secoya area in Ecuador.
The disappearence of the peccaries in Roraima has been examined in some detail by Fragoso (1997), who postulated three possible explanations. The first was that they had moved elsewhere, possibly as part of a long-term migration cycle.[8] However, the enormous size of the area from which they have disappeared makes this explanation unlikely. The second is that the peccary populations in the Yanomami area were over-hunted by garimpeiros (many of whom had shotguns) to the extent that they were eliminated from the region. However, the fact that they have also disappeared from regions where there was no gold mining seems to dispel this theory.
The third and most plausible explanation for the disappearance of the peccaries is that they were killed by an epidemic. This theory, which seems to be the most likely, is supported by the following facts:
· The garimpeiros brought pigs with them to the forest.
· There were outbreaks of swine fever and of foot-and-mouth disease in the surrounding farms at this time.
· The group dynamics of peccaries would facilitate the rapid spread of such an epidemic across the area.
· A researcher working on the Ilha de Maracá discovered peccaries that had died with no sign of violence.
Yanomami adaptations
Since the period of heavy mining activity in the Mucajaí basin the Yanomami of Homoxi recognise two types of forest in their territory: urihi wariopëha (“where the forest has been ruined”) and urihi totihiopëha (“where the forest is beautiful/good”) – also known as urihi temiopëha (“where the forest is healthy”). The first term obviously refers to areas where mining has degraded the forest and resulted in a scarcity of game.
In order to compensate for the absence of game in the areas that were worked by the garimpeiros, the Tirei, choosing to remain in the region of the lower Narahipi u, started to use their long-distance hunting trails more intensively, by-passing the areas of ‘ruined forest’ in order to gain access to areas rich in game (see Fig. 67).
One such circuit (without sub-camps and hence for short-duration trips) traversed the headwaters of the tributaries of the left bank of the Mucajaí between the ‘other Narahipi u’ and the Mamopë u (below the habitations on the lower Narahipi u). This trail gave access to small game such as paca, curassow etc. as well as larger species (peccaries and tapir). The left bank was chosen because the majority of the mine workings were on the right bank of the river.
Two other long-duration circuits extended to the right bank of the Mucajaí, avoiding the lower courses of the Wakapoko u, the Sakosihiiopë u (Baiano Formiga airstrip) and the Xereu – Napëroi u (Pau Grosso airstrip) which were heavily worked by garimpeiros. The first of these (with three staging camps) went to the upper course of the Xere u, providing access to peccaries and spider monkeys (which eventually fled to the headwaters). The second traversed a series of tributaries of the right bank of the Mucajaí (between the Xere u and the Toparu u, allowing access to a wide variety of game including collared peccaries, armadillos, tapir, giant anteaters etc. (see Fig. 67).
This adaptive strategy lasted for the two years of heavy garimpeiro occupation (1988-89) and appears to have been a viable compromise for the Tirei during this period.[9] In spite of various obstacles the group was able to continue its traditional social and cerimonial activities, in particular the inter-community reahu feasts that are the most significant socio-political events in Yanomami society. These feasts require considerable quantities of game (taken on long-duration hunting expeditions, as well as bananas and sweet manioc.
The current status of hunting
In spite of the fact that game levels in the region of the Homoxi post have not, according to the Tirei theripë, returned to those that were found before the arrival of the garimpeiros, they have nonetheless increase progressively. The leader of the group, Maranhão, reiterated this position in a specific interview on the subject, and listed the animals habitually encounteres within a day’s walk of the Post. These included paca, capybara, nine-banded armadillo, collared peccary, deer, howler monkey, saki monkey, guan, curassow, trumpeter, macaw, parrot and toucan. Tortoises are not found in the uplands and spider monkeys are only encountered in the hills around the headwaters of the rivers.
Maranhão went on to explain that in spite of the return of this game, it was by no means abundant, and if one sets off at dawn one will often only find game after walking for several hours (i.e. the afternoon, necessitating an overnight stay in the forest).
In some ways the definition between ‘runied forest’ and ‘good forest’ that eveloved during the time of the garimpo continues to be relevant in the area, even after a lapse of ten years. Although some game has returned to the damaged areas (i.e. in the vicinity of the rivers), it is not as abundant as in the areas that were left relatively unspoiled.
Finally, as has already been mentioned in the description of the current situation of the Tirei, this impression of sparsity of game may be to some degree influenced by social factors. The majority of the Tirei population is very young (40% below 14 and nobody older than 55). Over 53% of the hunters (15-44) are between 15 and 29, of which the majority were children during the time of the garimpo. Given the social upheaval that occurred during this time – a time during which they should have been acquiring or consolidating their skills as hunters - it may be that the lack of game has a much to do with their hunting less and with less skill than it does with the animal densities themselves. Finally, the relatively low number of hunters (33%) in proportion to their dependents may compound this sense of low productivity.
Health
Malaria and other epidemics
Various epidemic diseases were brought into the Yanomami area by the garimpeiros and several continued to cause serious health problems even after they had left. The most damaging of these was malaria, which was responsible for the majority of the deaths suffered by the Yanomami during and immediately after the gold mining period. This was partly a consequence of the mining technique used, which left behind large numbers of stagnant pools (ideal breeding sites for the mosquitoes that carry the disease).[10]
The Yaritha
theripë interpreted the malaria epidemic as retribution from the
angry garimpeiros after the
destruction of their equipment by the Federal Police and the theft of some
packets of cartridges (by the Tirei theripë)
from their temporarily abandoned camp.
This happened at the Macarrão airstrip.
The Tirei theripë
claim that at this time they also were threatened with the epidemic by the garimpeiros in retribution for the same
occurrence, but maintain that the cartridges were stolen by their enemies the Kuremau theripë.
From 1990 the health situation in the area was very precarious, with constant outbreaks of malaria and respiratory infections (among other diseases). In May 1991 67% of the Tirei theripë and Xereu theripë tested positive for malaria: 36% with Plasmodium vivax and 31% with P. falciparum. By this time there were many garimpeiros back in the region, many of whom (58% of the cases examined) were carrying malaria themselves.
Health workers based in the area observed a correlation between the return of the garimpeiros and the worstening health situation among the Yanomami. They also observed that the inability of most community members to work was resulting in chronic food shortage. There was widespread malnutrition and anaemia, 10% of the population had suspected tuberculosis and none of the women were pregnant.
For the year 1991 the Homoxi region accounted for only 22% of the malaria cases in the overall DSY, and 21% of the cases of moderate and serious malnutrition (DNS-FNS/RR, 1991). By 1993 the proportion of malaria cases had fallen to 18% but malnutrition had risen to 38% (DNS-FNS-RR, 1993).[11]
This disastrous situation, provoked by the garimpeiro invasion and prolonged by an ineffective system of health support, continued throughout the 1990s. The shortcomings of this service (precarious infrastructure, unsatisfactory healthcare) were highlighted in a report by the DSY/FNS/RR anthropologist Ivan Soares Farias in 1995. By 1998-99 this health support had become virtually inoperable, and the Ministry of Health proposed that it should be reformed. The reform included the allocation of responsibility for a large part of the Yanomami territory to the NGO URIHI Saúde Yanomami which, from the end of 1999 to the present day, has done much to improve the health situation of the Yanomami (for more detail see www.urihi.org.br).
Malaria has been brought under control in the Homoxi region by URIHI and is not currently a problem. However, if the situation were to change and health support were no longer to be available to the Yanomami, then these lagoons could continue to offer a significant threat as malaria reservoirs.
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Figure 1: Age structures of the populations in the Homoxi region |
Mortality
Mortality due to respiratory infections and
malaria was without doubt considerable in the Homoxi communities. A survey conducted with the leader of the Yaritha community has
allowed us to establish that in the Tirei-Xereu
communities, which were most directly affected by the garimpo, at least 17 of the older men (13 of whom were people of
influence – hereamuwi thëpë)
died at this time.[12] This gives some idea of the level of social
disruption and destructuring that these epidemics provoked.
These statements provided by the Yanomami are supported by the age pyramid of the current Tirei and Xereu theripë, which clearly show very young populations (41.5% up to 14 years old and only 4% over 50). Another notable characteristic is the comparative shortage of women in these communities, which will doubtless affect their reproduction and growth in the medium to long term.[13]
Mercury
Very large quantities of mercury were brought into the Homoxi region by garimpeiros for use in the process of gold extraction. It has been estimated that for every kilogramme of gold that came out of the area 1kg of mercury went in. This was lost into the waters and sediments during the washing process or else burned off during the extraction of the gold from the amalgum.
Mercury is not readily taken up by living organisms in its pure state, but when it becomes methylated in, for example, the anoxic conditions at the bottom of a lagoon or river, it can then be taken up by living organisms. Methylated mercury can thus accummulate in the tissues of fishes, prawns etc. in contaminated environments, and from thence to the humans who consume them.
A study of mercury contamination among the Yanomami population (162 samples) in the Mucajaí basin, undertaken in 1990, showed levels of mercury contamination that were in some cases above the WHO’s maximum permissible limit (6μg of methyl mercury per gramme of hair).[14] At Koremu (Kuremau theripë), relatively close to the Tirei, the average levels were 5.01 μg/g (=/- 1.04, n=10), with 20% over 6 μg/g. The highest levels were found in a boy of 8 in the Surucucus region (7.9 μg/g), and a girl of 4 in the Paapiu region (8.14 μg/g). These levels had been reached after just two years of mining activities in the region (Castro et al., 1991).
No in-depth survey of mercury contamination was carried out at Tirei, but a limited number of hair samples (32) was taken by one of the URIHI health representatives (analysed at the Instituto Evandro Chagas in Belém) in order to assess the need for a more in-depth analysis of the subject. Average levels were found to be 3.99 for children (0-10), 4.11 for adolescents (10-18), 3.5 for young adults (19-29) and 3.45 for older adults (30-45. No significant difference was observed between the sexes.
It is not known to what extent the aquatic
environment at Homoxi is now contaminated with mercury, nor to what extent it
has accumulated in aquatic animals in the region. Although little could realistically be done to decontaminate the
area if such pollution were to be found to occur, a better knowledge of mercury
levels in the sediments and fishes of the manmade lagoons at Homoxi could
nonetheless be helpful in the formulation of a strategy to minimise uptake in
the human population.[15]
Other waste
Both the forest and the open (secondary) areas at Homoxi region are strewn with a great deal of abandoned machinery. This includes oil drums and fuel tanks (some of which are lying in streams and pools), motors, crashed aeroplanes, batteries, tubing, gas containers, broken bottles, tin cans, cookers and many other items. In some areas (e.g. near the Julio de Blefe airstrip) there is said to be so much sharp litter on the forest floor that it is hazardous to hunt there.
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In a few cases the Yanomami make sporadic use of some of this rubbish, e.g. constructing fish traps from the plastic mesh left by the garimpeiros, or sheaths for their knives from plastic tubing. This is exceptional, however, and in general these materials are detrimental rather than beneficial to the Yanomami communities.
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Figure 3: Boys with a fish trap made from plastic mesh discarded by garimpeiros |
