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Galax Urceolata: The Social, Institutional, and Market Dynamics of a Floral Greens Commodity |
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Abstract. This study is documenting the social,
institutional, and market dynamics of the galax industry. It is looking at
changes in the industry over the last decade and the implications for
management of the resource. Galax, a short-stemmed ground cover, has been
harvested primarily in western North Carolina for more than 100 years to
supply the national and international floral industry. Anecdotal evidence
suggests that the harvester population has changed significantly since the
early 1990s, with the entry of Latinos into a practice that appears to have
been largely the domain of long-time European American residents. The causes
and implications of such a shift in the galax labor force are not
understood. Federal and state forest land management agencies and long-time
harvesters have expressed concern about the ecological sustainability of
current harvesting activities. The principal investigators are using
ethnographic approaches to examine the dynamics of three key actors (i.e.,
collectors, government, industry) that are involved in this forest-based
commodity. The team incorporates three distinctive disciplinary backgrounds
into this study: policy science, human geography, and marketing.
Accomplishments
Last Modified:
06/13/07
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