Living knowledge in a changing land: Indigenous women’s narratives of food sovereignty and leadership in Mitú, Colombia
(2025) In Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science MESM02 20251LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
- Abstract
- Indigenous communities in the Amazon are facing rapid socio-ecological changes that threaten traditional land management practices and food sovereignty. Indigenous knowledge and practices, essential for biodiversity conservation, are quickly being lost. I examine how changes in traditional land management affect Indigenous food sovereignty and its impact on the growth of women's leadership in Mitú, Colombia. Through ethnographic fieldwork and using the lens of Feminist Political Ecology, I discuss how structural inequalities, weakened governance, and climate change are significant barriers to Indigenous food sovereignty. There is an increased separation from agricultural spaces, however, women are actively re-signifying these spaces... (More)
- Indigenous communities in the Amazon are facing rapid socio-ecological changes that threaten traditional land management practices and food sovereignty. Indigenous knowledge and practices, essential for biodiversity conservation, are quickly being lost. I examine how changes in traditional land management affect Indigenous food sovereignty and its impact on the growth of women's leadership in Mitú, Colombia. Through ethnographic fieldwork and using the lens of Feminist Political Ecology, I discuss how structural inequalities, weakened governance, and climate change are significant barriers to Indigenous food sovereignty. There is an increased separation from agricultural spaces, however, women are actively re-signifying these spaces through grassroots leadership. This case study highlights the importance of Indigenous women reclaiming their knowledge and practices as a tool for empowerment and community-centered territorial governance. Recognizing and supporting leadership processes of Indigenous women in food systems is necessary to building resilient, sustainable, and inclusive futures for the Amazon. (Less)
- Abstract (Spanish)
- Las comunidades indígenas de la Amazonía enfrentan cambios socio ecológicos que amenazan las prácticas tradicionales de manejo territorial y su soberanía alimentaria. El conocimiento indígena, esencial para la conservación, se está perdiendo rápidamente. Este estudio analiza cómo estos cambios afectan la soberanía alimentaria y el liderazgo de las mujeres Indígenas en Mitú, Colombia. A través de un trabajo de campo etnográfico y partiendo de la Ecología Política Feminista, discuto como barreras estructurales, la gobernanza débil y el cambio climático afectan la soberanía alimentaria Indígena. A pesar del distanciamiento de los espacios agrícolas, las mujeres están resignificándolos mediante liderazgos comunitarios. Este estudio resalta la... (More)
- Las comunidades indígenas de la Amazonía enfrentan cambios socio ecológicos que amenazan las prácticas tradicionales de manejo territorial y su soberanía alimentaria. El conocimiento indígena, esencial para la conservación, se está perdiendo rápidamente. Este estudio analiza cómo estos cambios afectan la soberanía alimentaria y el liderazgo de las mujeres Indígenas en Mitú, Colombia. A través de un trabajo de campo etnográfico y partiendo de la Ecología Política Feminista, discuto como barreras estructurales, la gobernanza débil y el cambio climático afectan la soberanía alimentaria Indígena. A pesar del distanciamiento de los espacios agrícolas, las mujeres están resignificándolos mediante liderazgos comunitarios. Este estudio resalta la importancia de reconocer y fortalecer el rol de las mujeres Indígenas en los sistemas alimentarios como vía de empoderamiento y de gobernanza territorial centrada en la comunidad, esenciales para construir futuros resilientes, sostenibles e inclusivos en la Amazonía. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9191527
- author
- Melo Perez, Natalia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MESM02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Indigenous communities, Colombian Amazon, women's leadership, food sovereignty, Sustainability Science
- publication/series
- Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science
- report number
- 2025:008
- language
- English
- additional info
- Research funded by Swedish International Center for Local Democracy ICLD
- id
- 9191527
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-03 10:22:02
- date last changed
- 2025-06-03 10:22:02
@misc{9191527,
abstract = {{Indigenous communities in the Amazon are facing rapid socio-ecological changes that threaten traditional land management practices and food sovereignty. Indigenous knowledge and practices, essential for biodiversity conservation, are quickly being lost. I examine how changes in traditional land management affect Indigenous food sovereignty and its impact on the growth of women's leadership in Mitú, Colombia. Through ethnographic fieldwork and using the lens of Feminist Political Ecology, I discuss how structural inequalities, weakened governance, and climate change are significant barriers to Indigenous food sovereignty. There is an increased separation from agricultural spaces, however, women are actively re-signifying these spaces through grassroots leadership. This case study highlights the importance of Indigenous women reclaiming their knowledge and practices as a tool for empowerment and community-centered territorial governance. Recognizing and supporting leadership processes of Indigenous women in food systems is necessary to building resilient, sustainable, and inclusive futures for the Amazon.}},
author = {{Melo Perez, Natalia}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Master Thesis Series in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science}},
title = {{Living knowledge in a changing land: Indigenous women’s narratives of food sovereignty and leadership in Mitú, Colombia}},
year = {{2025}},
}