Local Knowledge/Lacking Knowledge: Contradictions in Participatory Agroecology Development in Bolivia

Authors

  • Jenny Cockburn Concordia University

Keywords:

local knowledge, participatory development, farmer experience, exchange, agroecology, barriers to collaboration, Bolivia

Abstract

Questions of who is understood to have agricultural knowledge, and how this perception influences knowledge exchange, uncover power imbalances in local, national and international relations. Analysis of fieldwork in Norte de Potosi, Bolivia, finds that NGO and state agronomists position themselves as teachers to farmer-students, masked by participatory language. Barriers to knowledge exchange and collaboration remain stubbornly entrenched even in efforts to transcend power relations and improve participatory approaches. Ironically, agronomists are positioned to hold both "expert" and "local" knowledge, which is then repackaged within agroecology. Meanwhile, farmers using compliant discourse (some times strategically) continue to be positioned as lacking.

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Published

2015-04-30

How to Cite

Cockburn, J. (2015). Local Knowledge/Lacking Knowledge: Contradictions in Participatory Agroecology Development in Bolivia. Anthropologica, 57(1), 169–183. Retrieved from https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/anthropologica/article/view/514

Issue

Vol. 57 No. 1 (2015): Kinship Travel: Relatedness through International Tourism and Travel Networks

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2015 Jenny Cockburn

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