Sustainability from the bottom up: the case of Altavista in Medellín, Colombia
Marisol (wearing hat), project leader at the Altavista Community Garden in Medellin. The children are talking about the garden and describing how their lives have changed since the project started.
Sustainability is a practical issue. This means that it should be part of our daily life. Typically, governments try to meet this need, but they face three main obstacles: 1) the legitimacy of their actions; 2) the lack of a presence within the territory (through agents, schools, hospitals, and other social services); 3) other external factors , such as budget, weather conditions, etc. All three issues are particularly important for sustainable practice. However, the second is often overlooked when discussing different sustainability options.
There are several aspects that may increase the complexity of applying sustainable practices in an area: geographic complexity, population density, technical and process issues, environmental hazards, etc. But these aspects are challenging only from a top-down perspective—applying the same method to multiple domains is an almost impossible task, as there are too many variables that can hinder generalization and adoption. Instead, one might investigate the possibilities that arise from adopting a bottom-up perspective, which changes the perspective not to offer something, but to the resulting interaction. Any bottom-up view should not deviate from the capabilities the community already has or the practices they already engage in.
Student volunteers working in a community garden. The garden consists of a variety of vegetables and medicinal herbs.
An actual case might help clarify. Medellin, Colombia is a complex city— unique combination Violence, social inequality, a sense of community, compassion for the less fortunate, and more. The city is a melting pot of unconventional governance methods. Its geographic complexity further adds to this melting pot. Medellin is made up of 30% urban areas and 70% rural areas. If the central government only focuses on urban development (as often happens), 70% of territories end up with policies that don’t really work for them. This is certainly the case with Altavista, one of Medellín’s often-forgotten territories. How will the bottom-up approach affect Altavista?
Since 2018, researchers from the Pontifical University of Bolivarna have collaborated with colleagues at the university Castleberry Peace Institute at the University of North Texas, has been working hard to gather information about the existing capabilities of the Altavista community. Sustainability remains one of our main concerns. We tried to push projects that the Altavista community had already thought of, but at first, we weren’t sure how to develop them, so we needed to raise money. One of the projects we created is a community garden that perfectly embodies the bottom-up approach.
The garden is located at the back of a school and is tended by community members and school-going children. While tending to the garden, the Altavista community gained knowledge about food security, adequate nutrition for children, and sustainable harvesting practices. They acquired the skills to replicate this process in their own homes and promoted and perpetuated ancient cultural practices known as vida campesina. There are even healthcare alternatives, as the garden is full of herbs that have been used for decades. In addition, the garden provides a small surplus that can sometimes be exchanged for compost or other materials.
Granted, the Altavista community won’t be completely transformed by a small project like a community garden, but it’s at least a first step toward community governance, acknowledging the practices that will help them become sustainable.
James Melnick, director of the Castleberry Peace Institute at the University of North Texas, and some leaders are harvesting lettuce.
Simon Ruiz-Martinez 2021 CMM Learning Exchange Fellow Currently a Ph.D. Candidate for Political and Judicial Studies at the Pontifical University of Bolivarna.Apart from Youth, Peace and Security Program At Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Collaboration, Conflict, and Complexity, Simon has been working to understand how the everyday behavior and behavior of people in a community shapes and defines the concept of safety.
