San Pedro de Atacama lies at the centre of global economic dynamics due to the enormous lithium reserves on indigenous territory in the Salar de Atacama (Dorn & Gundermann, 2022). As a key element in the batteries that are considered essential to addressing the climate emergency, lithium demand and production is expected to be ramped up immensely in the coming years (Hund et al., 2020). Research and interest in lithium extraction therefore is growing. Apart from studies about the environmental impact of lithium mining, the social effects are also important to take into account if we’re striving for a fair energy transition (see also Lorca et al., 2022).
In this article, the focus lies on the experiences of indigenous women who live around extraction sites in the Salar de Atacama in Chile. So far, mining has often been seen as inherently “masculine” – and looking at employment numbers, it is clear that the industry is still male dominated. However, more and more studies around mining consider other actors in the context of mining too, and this research with indigenous women contributes to the growing field examining gender and mining (Svampa, 2021; Ulloa, 2016).
Arriving in the dusty town of San Pedro de Atacama in Northern Chile, I quickly learned that the dynamics and the links between mining and the population are much more complex than expected. Focusing on the experiences of indigenous women helps untangling the contemporary economic developments around the Salar de Atacama. By acknowledging the women’s ambivalent and sometimes seemingly contradictory perspectives, the findings of my research contribute to a more nuanced and differentiated debate about a fair energy transition. The questions guiding this research centre around changes in the ways of life of indigenous women, and the opportunities and challenges that lithium mining offers.
What kind of challenges do indigenous women experience as a result of lithium mining?
The underlying concern for many indigenous people is the future of San Pedro de Atacama. Partly, these worries revolve around the environmental risk that lithium mining as a very water intensive process poses to the salt flat and its water resources. Here, mining takes place in the driest desert on earth, already experiencing changes in precipitation due to climate change.
Partly though, these concerns are about maintaining the cultural heritage of people living in the area. The introduction of large-scale mining and the effects of climate change in the region have led to changes in people’s livelihoods. Traditionally, agriculture and pastoralism were main activities of the Lickanantay indigenous people. With the mining companies offering stable, monthly incomes, many indigenous people have turned to these jobs instead, leaving traditional activities – and the practices related to them – behind.
As one indigenous woman says:
“Indigenous women and men no longer consider, for example, that agricultural work is fundamental to maintain and preserve their culture. For many of them, it is no longer a priority, so they no longer plan to cultivate the land, they prefer to keep their paid work and not to farm because it is more of a sacrifice.”
Indigenous woman
Yet, whereas there has been a loss of traditional activities, mining offers few employment opportunities for indigenous women. While companies in the Salar de Atacama are undoubtedly important employers in the region, the indigenous people they employ are mostly men. Overall, 80% of employees are male, and the majority of indigenous women who are working for the companies are employed in service positions, as kitchen staff, or in lower administration positions. Women employed in higher positions are often from central Chile, described by one indigenous woman as being typically “blond, tall, thin, white”.
As a male dominated industry, the lithium mining reinforces traditional gender norms. Situated in remote places, work in the mines requires men leave home for long shifts, from several days to several weeks, leaving the women to stay with their families and carry most of the domestic responsibilities. This includes unpaid domestic, practical labour (e.g., washing, cleaning, cooking), as well as the emotional labour of child raising. As other authors have pointed out, the system of mine work also reproduces images of masculinity (see Barrientos Delgado et al., 2011; Silva et al., 2016), reinforcing traditional images of men as strong breadwinners and women as domestic care givers. Despite such overall reproduction of traditional gender norms, my research suggests that many indigenous women seek to change these dynamics within their own relationships.
What opportunities for indigenous women are connected to lithium mining around the Salar de Atacama?
While lithium mining has taken place in the Salar de Atacama since 1984, it acquired particular importance after 2000. This has led to many changes in ways of life, and continues to have a significant impact on those still living around the Salar, including the lives of indigenous women.
Many women told me stories about better in access to education. People used to study in boarding schools, which meant they often did not see their families for long periods. In recent years, however, the situation has changed and there are now more local schools available. Furthermore, through scholarships provided by a mining company, more of the mine workers’ children now benefit from higher education. Academic education in Chile is generally very expensive and scholarships are vital for working class families.
During the last fifteen to twenty years, the infrastructure of energy and water provision in San Pedro de Atacama has also greatly improved. This makes life for indigenous women, who carry out many of the domestic responsibilities, such as washing, cooking, or cleaning, much easier. Having electricity, light and water available at most times facilitates domestic labour.
Beyond these indirect impacts on the lives of indigenous women, there are also more direct initiatives by the mining companies. For instance, in April 2022, one of them funded a check-up centre for breast cancer in the main square of San Pedro de Atacama, providing free health services for women. It has also launched projects for indigenous women, such as workshops to (re-) connect and (re-) learn ancient weaving techniques.
The project sought to mitigate the loss of cultural knowledge by facilitating the passing on of these dying practices.
What do we see if we bring the described opportunities and challenges together?
We can observe many changes due to lithium mining around San Pedro de Atacama. In conversations with indigenous women, I learned that many of them acknowledged both the positive and negative developments happening around them, even if they took different positions towards mining in general. Some of the women are actively resisting mining, for instance through rap music at public events. Other women noted the risks connected to lithium mining but accepted its presence in the area. They felt that the best approach was to make use of its opportunities, which can empower indigenous women.
One indigenous woman told me:
“How do we get out of this mining circle? It is related to all jobs, even to us [not working in a mining related sector]. We recently trained two craftswomen, a ceramics craftswoman and a textile craftswoman, who were perfect with their work, their innovation system and everything. […] And we did it [trained them] with a mining fund. We had to apply for the project because we didn’t have the resources. So that’s how it is, or in the end, the empowerment of women is also often based on these resources from the mining industry.“
Indigenous woman
During such conversations it became clear that many women experience ambivalent and contradictory feelings towards the mining industry. For instance, one young woman was thankful for her job at SQM (more specifically, at a subcontractor providing catering for mine workers), yet she expressed her concern about the negative effects of mining in the Salar.
In debates about energy transition it is important to take into account the perspectives of more actors than is usually the case in the field of mining. Learning from the ways in which indigenous women describe their lived realities will help to bring more nuance to debates around renewable energies.
In a moment of climate crisis and transformation, questions such as “who carries the burden of a fair energy transition?”, and “what is the most ethical response to the climate crisis?” must be constantly raised. To answer these essential questions, it is important to listen to many different voices, including those of indigenous women, experiencing life on the front line of our rapidly changing world.
References:
Barrientos Delgado, J., Salinas Meruane, P., Rojas Varas, P., & Meza Opazo, P. (2011). Gender relations and masculinity in northern Chile mining areas: ethnography in schoperías. Etnográfica. Revista do Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, 15(3), 413-440. https://doi.org/10.4000/etnografica.1013 
Dorn, F. M., & Gundermann, H. (2022). Mining companies, indigenous communities, and the state: The political ecology of lithium in Chile (Salar de Atacama) and Argentina (Salar de Olaroz-Cauchari). Journal of Political Ecology, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.5014
Lorca, M., Olivera Andrade, M., Escosteguy, M., Köppel, J., Scoville-Simonds, M., & Hufty, M. (2022). Mining indigenous territories: Consensus, tensions and ambivalences in the Salar de Atacama. The Extractive Industries and Society, 9, Article 101047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2022.101047
Silva, J., Campos, C., Garciá, P., Portilla, D. (2016). Masculinidades y paternidades en el contexto minero del norte de Chile. Salud & Sociedad 7(1), 78-96. https://doi.org/10.22199/S07187475.2016.0001.00005
Svampa, M. (2021). Feminismos ecoterritoriales en América Latina. Entre la violencia patriarcal y extractivista y la interconexión con la naturaleza. Documentos de trabajo 2(59), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.33960/issn-e.1885-9119.DT59
Ulloa, A. (2016). Feminismos territoriales en América Latina: defensas de la vida frente a los extractivismos. Nómadas 45, 123-139.
Interesting read!
Interesting read, thank you for your insights!