Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Nicholas Calderon Social Science

Campesinos Voice the Discourse of Fair Trade

Nicholas Calderon’s project, Campesinos Voice the Discourse of Fair Trade, will take place in the Altiplano region of Bolivia, where he will investigate the degree to which Fairtrades purported benefits are met. He will examine the extent of grower knowledge regarding Fairtrade entitlements, and their use of the Fairtrade social premium. His methods will combine an examination of discourses about the benefits of Fairtrade, digitally interactive participant observation, and interviews conducted with small-scale growers (those producing less than 2 hectares). The significance of this research is to enlarge the consumers understanding of the global food trade. Nicholas hopes to make this contribution by publishing a free eBook that will compare Fairtrade discourse with the quinoa growing process and what a fair system of global trade means to the Bolivian campesino.

Major: Society and Environment
Mentor: Mentor: Professor Louise Fortmann, Natural Resource Sociology
Back to Listings