202557(en)/9 - Ethnography And Community Engagement in Peacebuilding: Lessons from the Atrato River Basin, Colombia
ETHNOGRAPHY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN PEACEBUILDING: LESSONS FROM THE ATRATO RIVER BASIN, COLOMBIA
ETNOGRAFÍA Y APUESTAS COMUNITARIAS PARA LA PAZ: APRENDIZAJES DESDE LA CUENCA DEL RÍO ATRATO – COLOMBIA
Diego Ochoa Mesa
This article aims to contribute to the understanding of peace experiences within ethnic communities that challenge conventional conceptualizations in peace studies, underscoring the relevance of anthropological approaches in developing concepts, intervention strategies, and the recognition of alternative epistemologies and ontologies of peace and its construction. The research draws on eth- nographic work carried out in various institutional and community settings, which provided the basis for the structured ethnographic material presented in this report. Grounded in a political and ethical commitment to the communities involved in this research process, the study primarily seeks to affirm community agency in peacebuilding. The territories explored lie between the Pacific Basin and the southern Columbian Caribbean, regions historically inhabited by indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombian, and rural communities.