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CHAPTER 6 SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
6.1 Occupations
Households in Mahahual display occupational multiplicity. The sample of 37 households reported 40 distinct productive activities. Fishing is a productive activity
in 65 of the households
5
, making fishing is the most popular activity in Mahahual table 6.1. Other popular activities include farming and operating boat tours along the
coast or to Banco Chinchorro. Diversification of productive activities allows residents to receive income when fluctuations such as seasonal variations and weather-related
phenomena affect their primary productive activities. The proposed shift to a tourism economy will displace many currently practiced productive activities such as fishing
and could be difficult for residents during the tourist off-season times or if tourism does not meet expected levels.
Table 6.1 Distribution of Professions Productive Activity
Ranked 1 Ranked 2 Total
Fishing 15
6 65
Tourism 5
41 Selling Fish
4 11
Agricultural ranching and farming 4
6 32
Commercial not including restaurants 3
2 22
PensionUnemployed 3
8 SkilledTrained Employment
3 3
19 Restaurant
2 2
13 Building construction, carpentry, thatched
roof-making 2
3 19
Artisan Craft-Making 1
1 8
HuntingGathering 2
16 Childrens Activities
1 15
Domestic Work laundry, house cleaning 19
Transportation 5
See footnote 5
6.2 Education
Education is widely used as an indicator of wealth and social status Pollnac et al., 1997. Respondents were questioned about their years of formal education figure
6.2. Respondents have an average of six years of formal education. However, it should be noted that only the heads of households are interviewed, thus this average
may not be representative of the educational attainment of the entire population.
Mahahual has a primary school and a very recent August of 1999 secondary school. In the primary school there are 40 students; seven students in first year, seven
in second year, five in third year, nine in fourth year, five in fifth year, seven in sixth year. There are only two children of primary school age that do not attend. At the
time of the research, the secondary school was not yet open hence there is no data for student attendance at that school.
5
This figure accounts for all households that included fishing as a productive activity, no mater how it was ranked in importance.
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Figure 6.1. Educational Attainment in Mahahual
5 10 15 20 25 30
None 3 Years or less
4-5 years Completed Primary School
7-8 years Completed Secondary School
Post Secondary
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6.3 Migration