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Gendered Histories from the Colombian Caribbean : Water Carriers, Forest Guardians, and Environmental Leadership

Montañez, Kimberly LU orcid and Quiroga, Catalina LU (2026) In Gender(ed) Thoughts 2(2026:2). p.1-30
Abstract
The paper explores how Indigenous, Black, and Campesinas women in the Colombian Caribbean
transform everyday practices of care into socio-environmental leadership and territorial defence.
Based on oral histories collected through collaborative research on water governance and climate
change, we examine how emotions and ecological knowledge converge in defending land, water, and
collective well-being. Across La Guajira, Bolívar, and Sucre, women’s initiatives show that care can
function as a political practice sustaining communities amid climate vulnerability and extractive pressures. Using decolonial feminist thought and Feminist Political Ecology, our analysis situates these
narratives within broader histories of... (More)
The paper explores how Indigenous, Black, and Campesinas women in the Colombian Caribbean
transform everyday practices of care into socio-environmental leadership and territorial defence.
Based on oral histories collected through collaborative research on water governance and climate
change, we examine how emotions and ecological knowledge converge in defending land, water, and
collective well-being. Across La Guajira, Bolívar, and Sucre, women’s initiatives show that care can
function as a political practice sustaining communities amid climate vulnerability and extractive pressures. Using decolonial feminist thought and Feminist Political Ecology, our analysis situates these
narratives within broader histories of exclusion and environmental transformation. The stories show
that women’s socio-ecological leadership is not an extension of institutional power, but a relational
practice rooted in care, reciprocity, and strength, redefining environmental governance from the bottom up. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Environmental governance, Women’s Leadership, Colombian Caribbean, Territorial Defence, Climate Change Adaptation, Relations of Care
in
Gender(ed) Thoughts
volume
2
issue
2026:2
pages
30 pages
ISSN
2509-8179
DOI
10.47952/gro-publ-393
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e1abae00-9a94-4883-9613-74372d0526fe
date added to LUP
2026-06-30 11:15:38
date last changed
2026-07-09 06:19:54
@misc{e1abae00-9a94-4883-9613-74372d0526fe,
  abstract     = {{The paper explores how Indigenous, Black, and Campesinas women in the Colombian Caribbean<br/>transform everyday practices of care into socio-environmental leadership and territorial defence.<br/>Based on oral histories collected through collaborative research on water governance and climate<br/>change, we examine how emotions and ecological knowledge converge in defending land, water, and<br/>collective well-being. Across La Guajira, Bolívar, and Sucre, women’s initiatives show that care can<br/>function as a political practice sustaining communities amid climate vulnerability and extractive pressures. Using decolonial feminist thought and Feminist Political Ecology, our analysis situates these<br/>narratives within broader histories of exclusion and environmental transformation. The stories show<br/>that women’s socio-ecological leadership is not an extension of institutional power, but a relational<br/>practice rooted in care, reciprocity, and strength, redefining environmental governance from the bottom up.}},
  author       = {{Montañez, Kimberly and Quiroga, Catalina}},
  issn         = {{2509-8179}},
  keywords     = {{Environmental governance; Women’s Leadership; Colombian Caribbean; Territorial Defence; Climate Change Adaptation; Relations of Care}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2026:2}},
  pages        = {{1--30}},
  series       = {{Gender(ed) Thoughts}},
  title        = {{Gendered Histories from the Colombian Caribbean : Water Carriers, Forest Guardians, and Environmental Leadership}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.47952/gro-publ-393}},
  doi          = {{10.47952/gro-publ-393}},
  volume       = {{2}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}