Spanish with English Subtitles
A central component of the research project of which this film is a product, was the aim to establish relations of trust between social groups in the region who have historically been in conflict over access to land. Bringing together peasants, indigenous, Afro-Colombians and ex-guerrilla fighters in the same space, allowed them to share their own views and experiences while listening to others. Consequently, a potent inter-cultural and inter-ethnic space was created that allowed for difference to exist, while at the same aiming for the construction of a shared history and future. In that sense, the project aimed to de-politicize difference and de-escalate tensions between the various ethnic communities, encouraging to see the benefits of increasing cohesion and the breaking down of borders.
PazAltoCauca describes an engaged research project on peace and state building in Colombia in the aftermath of the Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP guerrilla. It addresses the historical violence and the intercultural challenges in the Cauca region, and explains how our project attempted to contribute to peace-making with research methods based on popular education, participatory action research and social design. We hear the voices of rural inhabitants, who live in areas heavily affected by the armed conflict, which gives an emotional face to a research on geographies of peace.