Mingas, Markets and Modernization: An Examination of the Effects of Market Orientation on the Traditional Labor Form in an Andean Community

Abstract

The fieldwork for this project was completed during an 11 week period in the fall of 1996. During this time I lived with an indigenous family in the community of Peguche and participated with the neighboring community of lluman in their mingas for a potable water project. In the course of this research, I utilized several methods to obtain my data. Among the methods used were formal and informal interviews, fieldnotes and participant observation. I further supplemented these by taking photographs with a 35mm camera, recording interviews with a mini-cassette recorder and typing notes into a laptop computer in the field.