Communities In Colombia Research Articles

Creative Research Methods and Civilian Agency in Civil Wars: Crafting the Past Through Memory Workshops in Colombia

ABSTRACT This article explores the potentialities of memory workshops for studying civilian agency in violent settings. Drawing from field research with campesino communities in Colombia, it provides a description of the workshops’ implementation process, including creative tools such as memory web creation, collective drawing of timelines and exploration of emotional biographies. Through these activities, campesinos reflected on the embodied and discursive relations within their communities, evoking experiences and practices of wartime. The article highlights the limitations of conventional research methods and proposes memory workshops as a methodological alternative that foregrounds the co-production of data, facilitating the emergence of localised knowledge and self-authorship.

Potential risks to women’s land rights from climate actions: Exploring matrilineal communities in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama

This paper explores ways in which global actions to tackle climate change can potentially undermine women’s land tenure security. While there is greater cognizance of the role of secure land tenure as a critical enabler of global climate goals, climate actions that fail to account for differential tenure systems and gender dynamics risk eroding women’s customary land rights and associated social support systems. The paper recommends ways to balance climate goals with land rights protection.

Potential risks to women’s land rights from climate actions: Exploring matrilineal communities in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama

This paper explores ways in which global actions to tackle climate change can potentially undermine women’s land tenure security. While there is greater cognizance of the role of secure land tenure as a critical enabler of global climate goals, climate actions that fail to account for differential tenure systems and gender dynamics risk eroding women’s customary land rights and associated social support systems. The paper recommends ways to balance climate goals with land rights protection.

Qualitative study exploring the barriers and facilitators to the prevention and management of equine colic in working equid communities in Colombia

Qualitative study exploring the barriers and facilitators to the prevention and management of equine colic in working equid communities in Colombia

Exploring the knowledge and perceptions of equine colic within working equid communities in Colombia: A qualitative study

Exploring the knowledge and perceptions of equine colic within working equid communities in Colombia: A qualitative study

Community-Based Participatory Workshop on Recycling Construction and Demolition Waste for the Empowerment of Women and Low-Income Communities in Colombia

This case study presents a community-based, integrated solution to mitigate the environmental impacts of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) as well as empower women and low-income communities in Colombia to find decent and safe work by gaining skills in extracting value from what is traditionally seen as waste. Utilizing a primarily qualitative, participatory mixed method approach to understand the neglected knowledge, expertise, and goals of a low-income community as well as the complex systems that shape their lives, this case study presents a humanitarian engineering project aimed at collaborating with women in low-income communities in Colombia to manage and extract value from C&DW. The objective of this investigation is to connect C&DW management, empowerment, and sustainable community development by utilizing a participatory, community-based workshop. This study is significant as it depicts an inclusive urban mining project with the aim of contributing to sustainable community development methods in community-based engineering projects. Furthermore, this study also contributes to the study of women’s empowerment approaches by demonstrating the use of contextually situated empowerment approaches. Ultimately, although not conclusive, this study is offered as an example of an inclusive urban mining, community-based project, with the hope that it may inform future efforts of this type and promote interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at C&DW management for the empowerment of communities.

Wayuu people's positions regarding the acceptability of political amnesties in Colombia

AbstractThis study mapped the diverse personal positions of the Wayuu indigenous community in Colombia regarding the acceptability of political amnesties in a post‐conflict context. The sample was composed of 130 indigenous adults between 18 and 74 years of age residing in the Guajira region, who were shown 12 amnesty‐related scenarios. These scenarios were composed according to a three‐factor design: (a) the level of detail that the amnesty applicant (former combatant of some illegal armed group in Colombia) was willing to disclose, (b) whether or not the applicant asked for forgiveness, and (c) the severity of the punishment endured by the amnesty applicant (A cluster analysis yielded three qualitatively different positions: never acceptable (18%), almost always acceptable (9%) and depends jointly on the quality of the information and remorse (73%). For the vast majority of Wayuu community members, a political amnesty for a former combatant of a Colombian armed group is not acceptable. For those who have accepted it, amnesty is only possible if the applicant proves that he or she is not causing harm to third parties. And it would also be conditioned to the particular situation of each case. A collective amnesty process has no chance of being considered acceptable.

Assessing the Economic Impact of Coffee Farming on Rural Communities in Colombia

Purpose: The aim of the study was assessing the economic impact of coffee farming on rural communities in Colombia Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Assessing the economic impact of coffee farming on rural communities in Colombia reveals significant findings. Coffee farming is a major source of employment and a primary contributor to household income in these areas, supporting the economic stability of numerous families. Moreover, the coffee industry’s demand for labor not only boosts local employment rates but also contributes to regional economic development through the generation of export revenues. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Dependency theory, livelihoods approach & dual economy model may be used to anchor future studies on assessing the economic impact of coffee farming on rural communities in Colombia. Implement CBPR methods to involve coffee farmers in the research process, ensuring that their firsthand experiences and insights inform the study. Advocate for policies that support fair trade practices.

Chagas Disease: Comparison of Therapy with Nifurtimox and Benznidazole in Indigenous Communities in Colombia.

Background: For indigenous people in Colombia, high infection rates with Chagas disease (CD) are known. Methods: In 2018 and 2020, nine villages were screened for CD. CD-positive patients could enter a drug observed treatment. While, in 2018, Benznidazole (BNZ) was provided as the first-line drug by the government, nifurtimox (NFX) was administered in 2020. Results: Of 121 individuals treated with BNZ, 79 (65%) suffered from at least one adverse event (AE). Of 115 treated with NFX, at least one AE occurred in 96 (84%) patients. In 69% of BNZ cases, the side effects did not last longer than one day; this applied to 31% of NFX cases. Excluding extreme outlier values, average duration of AEs differed highly significantly: BNZ (M = 0.7, SD = 1.4) and NFX (M = 1.7, SD = 1.5, p < 0.001). Using an intensity scale, AEs were highly significantly more severe for NFX (M = 2.1, SD = 0.58) compared to BZN (M = 1.1, SD = 0.38), p < 0.001. When analyzing the duration in relation to the intensity, the burden of AEs caused by NFX was significantly more pronounced. Dropouts (n = 2) due to AEs were in the NFX-group only. Conclusions: Side effects caused by BNZ were significantly fewer, as well as milder, shorter in duration, and more easily treatable, compared to NFX.

Environmental conditions play a key role in controlling the composition and diversity of Colombian biocrust microbiomes.

Drylands soils worldwide are naturally colonized by microbial communities known as biocrusts. These soil microbiomes render important ecosystem services associated with soil fertility, water holding capacity, and stability to the areas they cover. Because of the importance of biocrusts in the global cycling of nutrients, there is a growing interest in describing the many microbial configurations these communities display worldwide. However, comprehensive 16S rRNA genes surveys of biocrust communities do not exist for much of the planet: for example, in the continents of South America and the northern part of Africa. The absence of a global understanding of biocrust biodiversity has lead us to assign a general importance to community members that may, in fact, be regional. Here we report for the first time the presence of biocrusts in Colombia (South America) through 16S rRNA genes surveys across an arid, a semi-arid and a dry subtropical region within the country. Our results constitute the first glance of the Bacterial/Archaeal communities associated with South American biocrust microbiomes. Communities where cyanobacteria other than Microcoleus vaginatus prevail, despite the latter being considered a key species elsewhere, illustrate differentiable results in these surveys. We also find that the coastal biocrust communities in Colombia include halo-tolerant and halophilic species, and that niche preference of some nitrogen fixing organisms deviate from previously described global trends. In addition, we identified a high proportion (ranging from 5 to 70%, in average) of cyanobacterial sequences that did not match any formally described cyanobacterial species. Our investigation of Colombian biocrusts points to highly diverse communities with climatic regions controlling taxonomic configurations. They also highlight an extensive local diversity to be discovered which is central to better design management and restoration strategies for drylands soils currently undergoing disturbances due to land use and global warming. Finally, this field study highlights the need for an improved mechanistic understanding of the response of key biocrust community members to changes in moisture and temperature.

Healthy Life Habits in Caregivers of Children in Vulnerable Populations: A Cluster Analysis.

Intervention programs aimed at mitigating the effects of chronic noncommunicable disease (CNDs) focus on promoting healthy lifestyle habits (HLH), especially in the early stages of life. Because of this, different typologies of caregivers have been identified according to HLH during middle childhood and adolescence. However, the available studies have focused on aspects such as nutrition, physical activity, and rest, ignoring other HLHs that are equally important for children's well-being. Likewise, few studies address HLH during the first five years of life and how caregivers affect children's health. In a sample of 544 caregivers of children aged zero to five years from low-income Colombian communities, we established a typology of attitudes toward different HLHs. The results indicate the presence of three clusters that grouped caregivers with (1) positive attitudes toward all HLHs, (2) toward some HLHs, and (3) relatively low positive attitudes toward all HLHs. Membership in clusters with less positive attitudes toward HLHs was also found to be associated with low educational levels and living in rural areas. This study detected profiles of caregivers who may have unhealthy lifestyles, so the results would allow social workers to design differential interventions on HLHs in non-industrialized countries.

Participatory assessment of pollution and health risk in artisanal and small-scale gold mining communities in Colombia

The predominantly Afro-descendant communities of Yolombó and La Toma depend on the region's rich natural resources through livelihoods such as farming, fishing, and artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Previous studies of the region have identified elevated levels of mercury in several surface and groundwater sites. Furthermore, recent regional studies have identified human health risks associated with mercury exposure through hazard quotient (HQ) modeling and global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis (GSUA). However, there has yet to be a comprehensive analysis of water pollution involving different metals and metalloids potentially present in ASGM-influenced areas to estimate the associated environmental and human health impacts. In this study, we employed a participatory methodology to identify sources of exposure in Colombian ASGM communities through surveys, consumption diaries, and interviews. We then screened for relevant metals and metalloids through groundwater analysis using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). Furthermore, we calculated water pollution indices, including heavy metal pollution index (HPI), degree of contamination (Cd), heavy metal toxicity load (HMTL) and heavy metal evaluation index (HEI). Finally, we quantified human health risks related to groundwater consumption through the HQ and hazard index (HI). Although the groundwater assessed in this study generally meets United States and Colombian regulatory standards, heightened Fe, Mn, and Al levels were observed. The pollution indices generally agreed that three of the sites tested showed medium to high pollution levels. The HI showed that the combined effect of all metals tested did not substantiate risk for most participants. However, the HI of one participant, a child, exceeded the 1.00 threshold. Furthermore, the presence of Pb, despite meeting regulatory limits, necessitates further scrutiny due to its substantial impact on pollution and human health hazard indices.

Architecture, Design and Community in Colombia. More Urban, More Rural, More Social: The Workshop Experience

This contribution reflects on two challenges: the first focuses on analysing how architects-designers, teachers-students, should apply post-pandemic projective thinking from the academy. On the other hand, to make a critical reflection on how specifically from the PUJCali, under the methodologies of service-learning, co-design and placemaking, work has been done and can continue to be done in favor of small disadvantaged communities with the intention of producing significant changes for them. Especially after the pandemic, we wonder how it would be possible to orient these experiences towards a more collaborative, inclusive, transdisciplinary, collective and transcommunity learning system, moving away from hegemonic positions. How these workshops have a direct impact on the communities of school-age children and increase their well-being in multiple aspects, as well as improving their coexistence and behaviours. Valuing research work in conjunction with the community highlights the importance of appropriation by those directly involved when they feel part of the work process.

Autonomous cooperation: types of alliances between communities and combatants in civil wars

ABSTRACT Civilian cooperation with armed actors has been widely studied by conflict scholars. However, one aspect remains conceptually overlooked: instances where civilian communities cooperate while retaining their autonomy. This article proposes alliance as the core concept to understand cooperative relationships between communities and armed groups, while communities maintain autonomous self-governance. The article introduces a descriptive typology of alliances and provides a theoretical framework explaining how civilian positions and types of territory shape the various forms that alliances take. Drawing on field-based original empirical material from three rural communities in Colombia, the article illustrates how community-combatant alliances work on the ground.

Manufacture and experimental evaluation of a hydrokinetic turbine for remote communities in Colombia

The manufacture and experimental evaluation of a hydrokinetic turbine of 1 kW are presented. A water velocity of 1.5 m/s, with a power coefficient of 0.4382, a tip speed ratio of 6.325, an angle of attack and pitch angle of 5 and 0 degrees, respectively, a blade length of 0.79 m, a drive train efficiency of 70% and a S822 hydrofoil profile were used for the design. The blades were designed and manufactured by Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing techniques (CAM) with a solid cross-section in order to provide the required strength. They were made of Prolon MS (Castnylon + Molybdenum). The platform that supports the turbine was a modular floating raft simple to install, flexible, and durable made of high density polyethylene resin. The supporting structure of the turbine generator was made of stainless steel. The turbine was constructed of high quality and durable materials. To determine the efficiency of the designed turbine, the electrical power and kinetic energy of the river were measured. The experimental assays of the turbine were performed in the Sinú River located in Córdoba (Colombia), obtaining an overall equipment efficiency of 0.5359.

Assessing the Vulnerability of Endemic Colombian Amphibian Species to Climate Change in an Isolated Montane Ecosystem

Background and Research Aims Climate change, habitat loss, and fragmentation are the major threats to biodiversity. Montane amphibians are particularly sensitive to these threats. We address the vulnerability of the amphibian community in Colombia using a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) and prioritize amphibian species at risk of extinction and in need of conservation actions. Methods We completed two independent spatial analyses to assess species vulnerability in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), Colombia. First, we calculated the Area of Habitat and the percent of the Area of Habitat under protected area coverage for 19 species. We then examined the breadth of climatic space occupied by 16 species and how this space is predicted to shift under climate scenarios (RCP scenarios 4.5 and 8.5) for 12 General Circulation Models for 2050. We combined these two analyses with trait data related to adaptive capacity, obtained from previous research, to create a combined (correlative-trait) CCVA. Results Our analysis reveals a large reduction in available climatic space under both RCP scenarios by 2050. Our CCVA identified eight high priority species, including three Atelopus species and five within the Serranobatrachus/Tachiramantis complex, with extreme reductions in available climate space under RCP 8.5. The SNSM endemic and range restricted species are at elevated risk of extinction under climate change scenarios, with many moving into a high-risk category of extinction under the RCP 8.5. Given its isolation, the endemic species of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) are threatened by changing climates. Implications for Conservation The information provided in this manuscript used a vulnerability assessment to develop regional strategies for climate change adaptation and conservation. When possible, climate vulnerability must be incorporated into future adaptation and priority planning for the conservation of endemic, threatened montane amphibians, preferably via local management plans.

Affecting Infrastructures: Crafting and Weaving as Alternative Repairs

As two traditional practices performed by rural communities in Colombia, crafting and weaving can be reframed as ontologies that embody alternative material orders and forms of repair. In this context, we explore two specific initiatives: the Crafted Empathy Chair developed by members of campesino social movements in Cauca and Nariño, and Interweaving Material Encounters, a series of collaborative spaces involving women from textile collectives from Chocó, Antioquia, and Bolivar. In the process of exploring these initiatives, we reflect on the role of nonhumans as technologies that allow our interlocutors to share their affect. In addition to discussing strategies for engaging in affective relations when dealing with the aftermath of war violence, we describe how these arrangements affect us as a part of the audience. Thus, we propose the term affecting infrastructure to conceptualize how crafting and weaving can foster everyday spaces and shared grounds for the emergence of emotional engagements as alternative modes of repair.

Erratum: Water Sci Technol 15 October 2023; 88 (8): 1974-1981. Vertical flow wetlands as the core for the sustainable treatment of coffee wastewater in small communities in Colombia: preliminary results. Christian Albeiro Montes, Nestor Vicencio Ortiz, Carlos Alberto Arias, Tatiana Rodriguez Chaparro.

Erratum: Water Sci Technol 15 October 2023; 88 (8): 1974-1981. Vertical flow wetlands as the core for the sustainable treatment of coffee wastewater in small communities in Colombia: preliminary results. Christian Albeiro Montes, Nestor Vicencio Ortiz, Carlos Alberto Arias, Tatiana Rodriguez Chaparro.

Vertical flow wetlands as the core for the sustainable treatment of coffee wastewater in small communities in Colombia: preliminary results of the treatment of coffee wastewater in rural areas by vertical flow wetlands.

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural products in Colombia. To date, small-scale Colombian coffee growers have developed this activity with a simple infrastructure and random use of water that generates harmful by-products to the water resource mainly in the stage of separation of the mucilage. The coffee mucilage wastewater (CMW) is composed of high organic loads and its impact on water sources is due to its high load of nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values of over 25,000 mg/L. However, there is no consensus on what treatment can be used, especially whether it is accessible to coffee producers. Thus , the aim of this study consisted of assessing the performance of the combination of a carbon filter (CF) as pretreatment and vertical flow wetland (VFW) as a Natural-based Solution (NbS). The results show a reduction of more than 85% of COD, 96% of total solids, and UV254 close to 94%. It was remarkable that both treatments are appropriate for waters with a high concentration of solids. Finally, it can be concluded that CF + VFW is a feasible technology to treat the coffee wastewater from small communities of coffee producers.

Teaching English in the Colombian Rural: Normalistas Superiores Challenges and Experiences

This qualitative study focuses on the challenges and experiences faced by normalistas in-service educators who teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in rural contexts in Colombia without the training to do so. Data were analyzed using grounded theory, through instruments such as interviews, real-life episodes, and a focus group. The participants were two normalistas educators who have taught English in rural areas for years, and the study was conducted in remote rural communities in Colombia with limited resources and connectivity. The results evidenced the teaching English practices outlook in rural communities, the adaption to an experimental learning and teaching method as part of the normalistas’ limitations in terms of English knowledge and instruments to teach the foreign language and, finally, the impact on rural learners as a result of normalistas’ performances in English classes.