Between Land and Legacy: Environmental and Social Shifts in Rural Communities in Southern Ecuador
Abstract
This study explores the socio-cultural changes occurring within the rural communities of BellamarÃa, Guara, and Chaquizhca in southern Ecuador, focusing on their response to environmental challenges such as climate change, land use shifts, and natural resource management. These communities, whose livelihoods rely heavily on agriculture, have undergone significant transformations in their social and ecological dynamics. This research seeks to understand how these environmental stressors impact local food systems, gender roles, community resilience, and the sustainability of traditional farming practices. Using audiovisual storytelling, the voices of these communities will reveal their struggles, adaptations, and successes, offering a deeper insight into their resilience and agency. By integrating visual documentation through documentary filmmaking, this project highlights the importance of rural experiences in academic research, enhancing qualitative data with lived realities. The findings aim to inform policies and interventions that support resilient, sustainable communities capable of confronting the ongoing challenges posed by environmental and socio-economic shifts. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of socio-ecological dynamics in the Southern region of Ecuador, in BellamarÃa, Guara, and Chaquizhca, three rural communties in Loja Province. And highlights the importance of amplifying the voice of rural communities by addressing their life dynamics story. Through collaborative efforts, it seeks to foster cooperation through an innovative co-collaboration between documentary video and qualitative research methodology.
Status
Graduate
Department
International Studies
College
Scripps College of Communication
Campus
Athens
Faculty Mentor
Prof. Brian Plow
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Between Land and Legacy: Environmental and Social Shifts in Rural Communities in Southern Ecuador
This study explores the socio-cultural changes occurring within the rural communities of BellamarÃa, Guara, and Chaquizhca in southern Ecuador, focusing on their response to environmental challenges such as climate change, land use shifts, and natural resource management. These communities, whose livelihoods rely heavily on agriculture, have undergone significant transformations in their social and ecological dynamics. This research seeks to understand how these environmental stressors impact local food systems, gender roles, community resilience, and the sustainability of traditional farming practices. Using audiovisual storytelling, the voices of these communities will reveal their struggles, adaptations, and successes, offering a deeper insight into their resilience and agency. By integrating visual documentation through documentary filmmaking, this project highlights the importance of rural experiences in academic research, enhancing qualitative data with lived realities. The findings aim to inform policies and interventions that support resilient, sustainable communities capable of confronting the ongoing challenges posed by environmental and socio-economic shifts. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of socio-ecological dynamics in the Southern region of Ecuador, in BellamarÃa, Guara, and Chaquizhca, three rural communties in Loja Province. And highlights the importance of amplifying the voice of rural communities by addressing their life dynamics story. Through collaborative efforts, it seeks to foster cooperation through an innovative co-collaboration between documentary video and qualitative research methodology.