1. Introduction : Moving to an undeveloped frontier can be a risky gamble for a settler, with many colonization efforts failing before ever becoming firmly entrenched. The Brazilian Amazon was the sight of a major colonization scheme beginning in the early 1970s. This government sponsored migration of settlers to plots along the Transamazon Highway, including a study area located west of Altamira, Pará, continued for about five years before the government concluded that the colonization of small-scale farmers into the Amazon had failed. Despite this position, households continued to move to the Transamazon throughout the late seventies, eighties, and nineties. New areas had to be opened up to accommodate interested settlers. The landscape is now mixed with households that have been in the Altamira area since the late thirties with those arriving annually. In this poster we employ an economic status index based on material and household goods, in order to begin assessing the success of colonist households over time in this region. This index considers the goods and products present in colonist households as proxy indicators of accumulated wealth. In order to promote migration to the Amazon, the government developed an appealing package of incentives, which were offered to the colonists. The government gave each colonist family one hundred hectares of mature forest along the Transamazon Highway, or one of the travessoes (side roads). The Federal Colonization Agency (INCRA) provided land boundaries and titles for the settlers. Government-built houses were located on the individual lots. The Bank of Brazil guaranteed financing based on the area of forest cleared by the farmer and the amount of land planted in subsidized crops such as corn, beans, and rice. Households also received living and food subsidies for the first six months to cover the family until they first harvested crops. This household was expected to pay off these subsidies within three years of settlement. Also promised to the colonists was access to tools, technical aid, household items, and transportation of crops to market. Most colonizing families were advised to leave or sell most of their belongings including but not limited to furniture, tools, and house-wares, before moving to the Amazon. Some colonists claimed to have been told that they would find their houses stocked with, furniture, agricultural tools, pots and pans, and any necessary household goods. Most of the arriving settlers had to purchase many of the items for their homes after arriving in the Amazon. Methods: Household economic indexes were calculated using information gathered through surveys carried out in the Altamira region in 1997-1998. The index is a numeric representation of both household durable items and production items based on the presence of the item within the household. The items used to calculated this index were wood stove, gas stove, refrigerator, radio, clock/watch, sewing machine, B/W TV, color TV, satellite dish antenna, stereo, chain saw, rifle, car, small truck, truck, tractor, bicycle, and motorcycle. The surveys gathered both the presence of these items at the time of the survey and also the presence of these items at the time of arrival to the Transamazon. By utilizing an economic status indicator based on household items, a number of difficulties that can arise with socioeconomic indicators are avoided. Misrepresentation is limited by excluding any questions regarding actual monetary amounts either at the time of arrival or at present. Also considering the sometimes tumultuous Brazilian economy, monetary equivalents at one point in time do not always provide accurate representations of economic value, given the changes in the national economy over the past thirty years. A goods based index also allows the exclusion of qualitative indicators of living standard that may not be viewed equally across the entire study region, such as community status, education, and occupation (if other than farmer). Table 1. House Wall Materials by period of Arrival Period of Arrival <1975 1975-1979 1980-1984 1985+ Total Wall Brick Hardwood Wood Mud Palms Others 21.23 13.08 15.48 6.15 54.11 54.11 50.00 47.69 14.38 14.95 11.90 15.38 8.90 16.82 22.62 29.23 0.68 0.00 0.00 1.54 0.68 0.00 0.00 0.00 15.42 52.49 14.18 17.16 0.50 0.25 Total100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Table 2. House Flooring by Period of Arrival Period of Arrival <1975 1975-1979 1980-1984 1985+ Total Flooring Wood Tile Cement Brick Dirt Floor 23.97 12.15 20.24 21.54 8.90 3.74 3.57 1.54 50.00 57.01 40.48 32.31 0.00 0.00 1.19 0.00 17.12 27.10 34.52 44.62 19.65 5.22 47.01 0.25 27.86 Total100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Table 3. House Roof Materials by Period of Arrival Period of Arrival <1975 1975-1979 1980-1984 1985+ Total Roof Ceramic Asbestos Wood Palm Lea Others 10.27 8.41 4.76 3.08 63.01 48.60 48.81 43.08 26.03 42.06 44.05 50.77 0.68 0.00 2.38 1.54 0.00 0.93 0.00 1.54 7.46 52.99 38.06 1.00 0.50 Total100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Figures and Tables:Discussion: As Figure 1 indicates, using our goods based economic indicator, there is a general trend toward higher economic status as the household has been in the region for a longer period of time. One consideration that must be kept in mind is that not all households that initially migrated to the Transamazon remain there currently. The households remaining there after twenty-five or more years are probably the ones that were successful enough to support their entire families. Nonetheless, the index would indicate that households that remain in this highly competitive environment have been able to achieve a higher economic standard. They are not merely surviving, but they are thriving and have been able to purchase material goods that benefit both the household and farm production. Complementing the goods-based index, evidence for higher economic and living standards can also be seen in upgrades that have been made to the colonists’ homes over time. Tables 1-3 show what materials are used by what percentage of the households for the primary structural portions of the home (walls, floor, and roof). The percentages have been separated by time of arrival in the region. Again, there is a higher portion of the older setters that are using more expensive materials on their walls, floors, and roofs, indicating a higher standard of living in these households. Table 1 demonstrates the more widespread use of mud in home construction by new settlers arriving after 1985 (~30%), while more established colonists have switched to a greater use of more expensive materials such as hardwoods and brick for the walls of the home (over 75% of the of settlers arriving prior to 1975). The same thing can be seen in Table 2, which clearly exhibits a shift away from dirt flooring to more expensive alternatives as colonists have been in the region for a greater period of time (see Figure 2.). The movement towards home upgrades also includes the roof, where the earliest settlers have made a move away from wood roofing and more towards asbestos and ceramic roofing. Only 26% of the households in the earliest group are currently using wood as their roofing material, with almost 75% of the households using asbestos or ceramic tiling. This is a pretty large contrast to all other groups, where at least 42% of the households are using wood roofing. Figure 2. Conclusions: Despite the many challenges that face frontier households settling in the Amazon Basin, and the high failure rate of colonists worldwide, over the past thirty years, many colonists arriving in the Transamazon have been able to succeed and thrive. Households that have been successful enough to hold on to their land have exhibited a steadily higher level of economic status, based on accumulation of goods, and these households have also shown a correlation with investments in infra-structural improvements for all aspects of their homes. ECONOMIC EVALUATIONS OF FRONTIER HOMESTEADERSLindan Hill, Stephen McCracken, Emilio F. Moran Indiana University / ACT, USA Contacts: linhill@indiana.edu stmccrac@indiana.edu moran@indiana.edu