Who knows, who writes, and who decolonises? Dialogues about collaborative partnerships of a rural education initiative in post-accord Colombia

Abstract

Recognition and preservation of local knowledge, practices, and ways of being are tenets of decolonial practices. However, understanding how, in which ways, and–mainly–who does the decolonial work is still unclear. The Education, Land, and Reconciliation Project (EDUCARE in Spanish) is an action-research initiative co-created between former guerrilla members who are reincorporating into Colombian society while building their new rural community and a group of community and educational psychologists and researchers from an urban university. This project aims to co-construct an educational model recognising peasant (campesino) practices and values and the philosophy of Good Living (Buen Vivir). The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic dialogue among six women: three former guerrilla members who are part of the project and three researchers (at different moments in their careers) about the roles, tensions, and learnings between partners in the project and how they positioned themselves throughout the process. Through focus group discussions and dialogical encounters, we jointly explore the journey of co-implementation. We focus on questions about what counts as knowledge production, and the tensions that arise within the community and outside it as a result of this collaborative effort.