Saberes locales: un aporte clave para el desarrollo sustentable de la región andina

Los saberes locales son de suma importancia tanto para el desarrollo humano sustentable como para la conservación ambiental. En los Andes, la vida de las poblaciones locales depende en gran medida de sus saberes. Estos saberes son vigentes y dinámicos, y responden a los cambios socioeconómicos y ambientales mediante un proceso de resistencia cultural y de adaptación. Sin embargo también son vulnerables y, consiguientemente, es importante apoyar su fortalecimiento. Los saberes locales deben ser integrados efectivamente en los proyectos de desarrollo. De hecho, un diálogo entre los saberes locales y los denominados “científicos” permite dar paso a soluciones novedosas a los nuevos retos socioambientales que enfrentan las comunidades andinas en un mundo globalizado.

Fortaleciéndo la soberanía alimentaria mediante la revalorización de saberes ecológicos locales: experiencia en los Andes bolivianos

Ethnobiology research contributes significantly to initiatives that aim to enhance food sovereignty among indigenous and/or traditional people. In Bolivia, one of the Latin-American countries that shows the highest poverty and undernourishment levels, the purpose of this research-action project was to enhance food sovereignty through the revitalization of the local ecological knowledge and to promote local technological innovation processes in the Andean community of Tallija-Confital. During a first step the endogenous knowledge and strategies related to food security and sovereignty were investigated, based on the principles and tools of the Revitalizing Participatory Research (RPR). In a second step local technical innovation processes were supported through a “knowledge dialogue” between exogenous and endogenous knowledge systems, focusing on the processing of the cañahua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) gluten. The research results demonstrate that Andean people have developed complex endogenous knowledge and strategies to adapt to socio-environmental changes that show a great potential to contribute to the enhancement of food sovereignty. Nevertheless, in the current globalized context that translates into new challenges for local communities, beyond the revitalization of local ecological knowledge, a dialogue between different knowledge systems can lead to important local technological innovation for the improvement of their well-being. Key words: food sovereignty, knowledge dialogue, endogenous development, technological innovation