Recognition and preservation of local knowledge, practices, and ways of being are tenets of decolonial practices. However, understanding how, in which ways, and – mainly – who does the decolonial work is still unclear. The Education, Land, and Reconciliation Project (EDUCARE in Spanish) is an action-research initiative co-created between former guerrilla members who are reincorporating into Colombian society while building their new rural community and a group of community and educational psychologists and researchers from an urban university. This project aims to co-construct an educational model recognising peasant (campesino) practices and values and the philosophy of Good Living (Buen Vivir). The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic dialogue among six women: three former guerrilla members who are part of the project and three researchers (at different moments in their careers) about the roles, tensions, and learnings between partners in the project and how they positioned themselves throughout the process. Through focus group discussions and dialogical encounters, we jointly explore the journey of co-implementation. We focus on questions about what counts as knowledge production, and the tensions that arise within the community and outside it as a result of this collaborative effort.
La reconnaissance et la préservation des connaissances, pratiques et manières d’être locales constituent des principes des pratiques décoloniales. Cependant, on ne comprend pas encore très bien comment, par quels moyens et – principalement – par qui le travail décolonial est effectué. Le projet Éducation, terre et réconciliation (EDUCARE en espagnol) est une initiative d’action-recherche co-créée par d’anciens membres de guérillas qui se réintègrent à la société colombienne tout en construisant leur propre nouvelle communauté rurale, et un groupe de psychologues et de chercheurs communautaires et scolaires issus d’une université urbaine. Ce projet cherche à construire en collaboration un modèle éducatif qui reconnaisse les pratiques et les valeurs paysannes (campesinas), et la philosophie du bien-vivre (buen vivir). Ce document a pour objectif de présenter un dialogue systématique entre six femmes – trois ex-membres de guérillas qui font partie du projet et trois chercheuses (à différents stades de leur carrière) – sur les rôles, les tensions et les enseignements entre partenaires dans le cadre du projet, et sur la manière dont elles se sont positionnées tout au long du projet. Grâce à des discussions en groupes de réflexion et des rencontres dialogiques, nous nous penchons ensemble sur le parcours de la mise en œuvre conjointe. Nous nous concentrons sur les questions portant sur ce qui constitue la production de connaissances et sur les tensions qui surviennent au sein et en dehors de la communauté suite à cet effort collaboratif.
Si bien el reconocimiento y la preservación de saberes, prácticas y formas de ser locales son principios asociados a las prácticas decoloniales, aún no está claro cómo, de qué manera y, sobre todo, quién hace el trabajo decolonial. El proyecto Educación, Tierra y Reconciliación (Educare) es una iniciativa de investigación-acción cocreada entre antiguos miembros de la guerrilla que se están reincorporando a la sociedad colombiana al tiempo que construyen su nueva comunidad rural y articulan a un grupo de psicólogos comunitarios y educativos y a investigadores de una universidad urbana. El proyecto pretende coconstruir un modelo educativo que reconozca las prácticas y los valores campesinos, así como la filosofía del Buen Vivir. El propósito de este trabajo es presentar un diálogo sistemático entre seis mujeres —tres ex guerrilleras que hacen parte del proyecto y tres investigadoras (en diferentes momentos de sus carreras)— sobre los roles, tensiones y aprendizajes experimentados por las socias del proyecto y cómo fueron posicionándose a lo largo del proceso. A través de grupos de discusión y encuentros dialógicos, analizamos conjuntamente el camino de la coimplementación. Nos centramos en abordar cuestiones relativas a qué cuenta como producción de conocimiento y las tensiones que surgen dentro y fuera de la comunidad como resultado de este esfuerzo de colaboración.
Co-production; partnership; decolonisation; action-research; peace building
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