Biocultural Diversity, Raizal Agriculture and Food Sovereignty in San Andrés y Providencia (Colombia

https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.n32.13

Laura Gutiérrez Escobar
Orcid ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2161-4031
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
lmgutierreze@unal.edu.co

Abstract:

This article builds upon a brief review of the socio-environmental conflicts that led to the loss of food security and sovereignty in the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (Colombia). The article analyses local Raizal people’s traditional agricultural knowledge and practices. I argue that agricultural production in San Andrés and Providencia is viable, culturally relevant, and necessary to guarantee food sovereignty in the archipelago. This is so because Raizal agriculture is grounded on a deep awareness of local agricultural biodiversity and the sustainable management of soil and water. The research is based on intermittent fieldwork throughout five months along with semi-structured interviews, visits to plots and home patios, participatory methods such as social cartography, and documentary review.

Keywords: San Andrés and Providencia, seed savers, biocultural diversity, traditional knowledge.