Coupling Agroecology and PAR to Identify Appropriate Food Security and Sovereignty Strategies in Indigenous Communities

This article discusses the potential of coupling participatory action research (PAR) with agroecological principles to address food insecurity in indigenous communities. It argues that combining these two approaches can lead to culturally and environmentally appropriate, context-oriented strategies...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agroecology and sustainable food systems 2014-02, Vol.38 (2), p.165-198
Main Authors: Putnam, Heather, Godek, Wendy, Kissmann, Susanne, Pierre, Jean Luckson, Alvarado Dzul, Santos Humberto, Calix de Dios, Hector, Gliessman, Stephen Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action research
Agriculture
agroecology
Community
food security
food sovereignty
Food supply
Native peoples
participatory action research
photosynthetically active radiation
rural communities
Sovereignty
Yucatán
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article discusses the potential of coupling participatory action research (PAR) with agroecological principles to address food insecurity in indigenous communities. It argues that combining these two approaches can lead to culturally and environmentally appropriate, context-oriented strategies to empower community members and strengthen community food sovereignty and food security. This article draws on a recent study of Mayan communities in the Yucatán State, Mexico, and demonstrates the strengths of an agroecologically focused PAR approach in addressing local challenges faced by rural communities in their struggle to become food sovereign and secure, but its weakness when it comes to influencing policy overarching structures threatening community food sovereignty.
ISSN:2168-3573
2168-3565
2168-3573
DOI:10.1080/21683565.2013.837422