ABSTRACT
The development of Caye Caulker is the story of the interrelationship between the individual, the wider network of kin to which the individual is connected, and an economic system that promotes individual entrepreneurs. The Mestizo population brought with them a kinship structure based on strong family ties. The original families on the island developed wider networks of kin concentrated into kin localities. Reciprocal exchanges of goods and services between kin have the important effect of helping the individual to achieve economic independence. Women have been incorporated into tourist business, thereby creating a new category of producers within the traditional family structure. Caye Caulker functions not as a community, but as a collection of individuals with links to a number of groups that range from the local household to international business. Caye Caulker is a model of local development that successfully benefits the local producers, but the islanders have to maintain vigilance in their broader political relationships to continue their independence.
