Desarrollo de módulos de educación agroecológica mediante una metodología de investigación comunitaria participativa en Chiquimula

Margaret Baker; Claudia Irene Calderón

doi:10.36829/63CSH.v11i2.1727

Authors

Margaret Baker University of Wisconsin-Madison
Claudia Irene Calderón

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36829/63CSH.v11i2.1727

Keywords:

participatory research, agroecology, Indigenous knowledge, Ch'orti' Region, farmer-to-farmer

Abstract

Participatory community research is a type of research that questions power relations in the production, distribution and recognition of knowledge. We present a case study that details the application of these methods, within the framework of a two-year project of an master's student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA within four communities of the Ch'orti' Region of Guatemala focused on agroecological practices and the transfer of knowledge within and between communities. Starting with diagnostic information from Mancomunidad Copánch’orti’, a local partner organization, and the results of 39 interviews with members of the communities, common themes of interest emerged that informed two trainings and two farmer-to-farmer exchanges, and development of educational resources for the communities. We share the results of these activities and offer key strategies for collaborative projects.

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Author Biographies

Margaret Baker, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Margaret Baker is a Community Outreach and Environmental Education Specialist for the Department of Ecology in the state of Washington, USA. Her previous work enlisted participatory and community-based approaches to help communities strengthen local food systems while her current work aims to center community voices in policy decisions through outreach and education efforts.

Claudia Irene Calderón

Claudia Irene Calderón is a Faculty Associate in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliated professor at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. She conducts research at the intersection of gender, agroecology, crop evolution, and sustainable food systems. Her work employs participatory approaches as well as ethnographic studies alongside small-holder farmers in rural areas of Mesoamerica

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