Buen Vivir as an Innovative Development Model

Abstract

This chapter examines the development of indigenous community organizations (ICOs) in Colombia. These ICOs may be seen as a social innovation supporting a process of social change which addresses the needs of marginalized indigenous communities. It links with people-centered social innovation perspectives by critically examining northern understandings of development with Buen Vivir—a community-centric, ecologically balanced and culturally sensitive development model which challenges the dominant market-based model of capitalism that has been adopted by Latin American countries in postcolonial times. The ICO constitution is best understood as an interweaving of three institutional elements: legal status, ownership and organizational structure, which all jointly shaped the IOGs as they formalized. Two types of forms of governance were identified as hybrids arising from the transformation process: autonomous and quasi-autonomous decision-making processes. The chapter provides original evidence about the hybrid characteristics of the selected ICOs and how they remain strongly affiliated with their indigenous values.