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Project

Heritage Imaginaries in the Ecuadorian Andes: An Ethnography of Heritage Meaning Making in Saraguro and Cuenca, Ecuador

In the Andean region, diverse aspects such as the socio-economic conditions, environmental conflicts, unplanned urban growth, and processes of global homogenization threaten the built cultural heritage and the local knowledge related to them. Aside from ongoing conditions, the local governments have a lack of expertise in the management and holdup of the resources of cultural heritage. It triggers loss of self-design process, architecture techniques, and collective building practices — consequently, this problematic compromise the sustainable and inclusive living conditions. At the same time, from the Sumak Kawsay –indigenous Kiwchua´s nationality cosmovision, that understands the way of inhabiting the place/earth as continuum culture-nature-, various stakeholders have recovered and incorporate Andean knowledge in spaces such as academia, public policies, social movements, etc. Thus allowing that Sumak Kawsay has firmly positioned itself as an alternative to the ongoing development paradigms, and this has encouraged the reformulation of new ways to practice and conceive politic and local governance. In this line, to face the current problematic on threatening heritage the VLIR-UOS project: Innovative governance systems for built cultural heritage, based on traditional Andean organizational principles in Ecuador aims to contribute to de endeavor of new ways of governance and local management of the heritage, according to the needs and strengths of local settlements. In the frame of the project, this doctoral research will reflect on Andean knowledge of socio-organizational dynamics, by identifying the immaterial values embodied in those practices, the social networks, and subjective interpretations of their organizational dynamics. Special attention is given to social-spatial practices based on principles of reciprocity and collective work. Respectively, the Ainy and the Minga that hold up to communitarian life and common basics. Hence the agency of people materializes in the existing spatial configurations or practices that we could call heritage. The methodological approach is from an insider’s perspective by using participative action research methodology and ethnographic techniques in communities in the southeastern highland of Ecuador. By setting up a reflexive process in the communities, we deep into traditional knowledge in contemporary contexts and how it could improve, strength, or questioning the management of collective resources like the heritage. The research, therefore, gives a voice to local stakeholders taking into account the cultural and geographical diverse realities of the Andean region historically profoundly rooted nature of the territory and the colonial background.

Date:18 Dec 2019 →  18 Dec 2023
Keywords:Andean Knowledge, Participatory action research, Socio-organizational analysis, kiwchua culture
Disciplines:Other sociology and anthropology not elsewhere classified, Social and cultural anthropology
Project type:PhD project