Ixchel: Building understanding of the physical, cultural and socio-economic drivers of risk for strengthening resilience in the Guatemalan cordillera
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: International Development
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Planned Impact
This project aims to benefit and strengthen capacities of vulnerable populations facing natural hazards and systemic risks and government institutions and civil society orgs. responsible for and working in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Guatemala. Impact will be achieved through a series of research-into-action activities that bring physical sciences into dialogue with social sciences and humanities as well as indigenous cosmovisions. The significant percentage (over 20%) of the budget requested for these innovative activities also reflects their importance within the project design. This proposal has been co-developed with Guatemalan investigators and stakeholders, ensuring knowledge production with end users and grounding in the local context, thus increasing its potential to generate impact in the short, and long term. Co-designed engagement and impact activities include:
1) Three project workshops in Guatemala that will bring together scientific, government, intergovernmental, civil society, private sector and community representatives. These will provide a space for exchange and assessment of the research methods, questions and results and a discussion of pathways to embed that knowledge in practice at the policy level. We will also coordinate a dialogue-focused symposium to share our results and invite collaborators from other GCRF projects, to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-organisational dialogue around DRR priorities.
2) Data collection will take place through a series of interdisciplinary workshops, participatory art and ethnographic research designed to give voices to indigenous and marginalised peoples and acknowledge different knowledge practices and ways of representing risk. This will produce new knowledge about hazards and risk and useful tools to help respond to them (maps, evacuation routes and plans).
3) The capstone docunovela will have multiple forms of impact, both as a process and as a final text. By dealing with the question of risk in a way that takes account of the multiple geographies at play in Guatemala, it will speak to different audiences, not only communities at risk, but also government agencies and emergency managers, development practitioners, hazard scientists and Guatemalan ladino elites. It will put urgent debates on the political agenda and will function as an advocacy and mobilising tool. We will seek to export it to other countries so that its benefits can proliferate globally.
4) Capacity strengthening activities for this project take place at all levels of our engagement with stakeholders. By the end of the project, the government institutes responsible for hazard monitoring, assessment and emergency response will be able to use a range of tools and methods that will outlast the project duration and improve their capacity in the short and long term. Local communities will also have enhanced capacities and be trained in research methods including ethnographic methodologies and knowledge exchange. To ensure lasting impact this project will also engage with the higher education sector in Guatemala. During the technical visits from UK researchers, we plan to impart two short courses targeted at undergraduate students and researchers associated with risk management, to strengthen long-term physical and socioeconomic resilience.
Our findings will be presented in academic papers and reports in Spanish, Mayan languages and English. The promotion and dissemination of research results and methodologies in different languages has the long-term potential to benefit institutions in Guatemala and those working with populations at risk in similar contexts elsewhere.
To monitor and evaluate project impact we plan to apply the Theory of Change methodology. We have drafted an initial version for the proposed project and we will further co-develop this strategy with representatives of key stakeholder groups who will be invited to participate in this exercise at the first workshop.
1) Three project workshops in Guatemala that will bring together scientific, government, intergovernmental, civil society, private sector and community representatives. These will provide a space for exchange and assessment of the research methods, questions and results and a discussion of pathways to embed that knowledge in practice at the policy level. We will also coordinate a dialogue-focused symposium to share our results and invite collaborators from other GCRF projects, to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-organisational dialogue around DRR priorities.
2) Data collection will take place through a series of interdisciplinary workshops, participatory art and ethnographic research designed to give voices to indigenous and marginalised peoples and acknowledge different knowledge practices and ways of representing risk. This will produce new knowledge about hazards and risk and useful tools to help respond to them (maps, evacuation routes and plans).
3) The capstone docunovela will have multiple forms of impact, both as a process and as a final text. By dealing with the question of risk in a way that takes account of the multiple geographies at play in Guatemala, it will speak to different audiences, not only communities at risk, but also government agencies and emergency managers, development practitioners, hazard scientists and Guatemalan ladino elites. It will put urgent debates on the political agenda and will function as an advocacy and mobilising tool. We will seek to export it to other countries so that its benefits can proliferate globally.
4) Capacity strengthening activities for this project take place at all levels of our engagement with stakeholders. By the end of the project, the government institutes responsible for hazard monitoring, assessment and emergency response will be able to use a range of tools and methods that will outlast the project duration and improve their capacity in the short and long term. Local communities will also have enhanced capacities and be trained in research methods including ethnographic methodologies and knowledge exchange. To ensure lasting impact this project will also engage with the higher education sector in Guatemala. During the technical visits from UK researchers, we plan to impart two short courses targeted at undergraduate students and researchers associated with risk management, to strengthen long-term physical and socioeconomic resilience.
Our findings will be presented in academic papers and reports in Spanish, Mayan languages and English. The promotion and dissemination of research results and methodologies in different languages has the long-term potential to benefit institutions in Guatemala and those working with populations at risk in similar contexts elsewhere.
To monitor and evaluate project impact we plan to apply the Theory of Change methodology. We have drafted an initial version for the proposed project and we will further co-develop this strategy with representatives of key stakeholder groups who will be invited to participate in this exercise at the first workshop.
Organisations
Publications
Armijos M
(2024)
Challenging Global Development - Towards Decoloniality and Justice
Collective Book
(2025)
Women leaving their mark: stories of leadership and risk in Fire Volcano
Domingo Chiviliu A
(2025)
Rk' aslimaal K'chilaaj Conserving green areas through ancient practices in Panabaj, Santiago Atitlán
Naismith A
(2024)
Transitions: comparing timescales of eruption and evacuation at Volcán de Fuego (Guatemala) to understand relationships between hazard evolution and responsive action
in Journal of Applied Volcanology
Related Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Award Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NE/T010479/1 | 01/01/2021 | 30/07/2023 | £309,216 | ||
| NE/T010479/2 | Transfer | NE/T010479/1 | 31/07/2023 | 31/12/2024 | £121,878 |
| Title | El Canto de Panabaj - The song of Panbaj |
| Description | This exhibit is the result of the participatory research process that the team conducted with 4 local Indigenous Organisations in Panabaj. This exhibit tells the story of Panabaj, including the period during the armed conflict in Guatemala, the landslide event that took place in 2005 and the impact that it has had on the community. The final part of the exhibit shows how the community envisions the future and their aspirations. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | The exhibit has raised interest from local and national actors including the Ministry of Culture. We are working on showing the exhibit in different venues around Guatemala. |
| Title | Embroidery that represents women feelings towards Panabaj territory |
| Description | The organization of Maria Panabaj (Non Gobernamental Organization that looks after women and children in Panabaj community) has designed and weave an embroidery to show how this group of women, survivors of the landslide occured in 2015, see their territory, representing both sorrow and happinness. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The process of developing this artistic product has impacted the way women see themselves as agents of change in their community, highlighting how they can influence future generations, being theyt themselves knowledges keepers. |
| Title | Festival of volcanic art: a dialogue of knowledge inspired by volcanoes (as part of International conference COV12) |
| Description | Volcanoes are powerful monuments of nature that threaten lives and livelihoods while simultaneously inspiring awe, artistic inquiry and expression. Based on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research methods, the exhibition showcased art pieces, including visual expressions, and reflections from researchers in the field. The outputs come from projects that brought people together to practise creative methods for making collaborative outputs. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Connections between different initiatives |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/tema2/ |
| Title | Mural co-created with Anadesa and Panabaj community 1 |
| Description | One mural painted by the community of Panabaj under the leadership of Anadesa organization that reflects several historcal times of the community of Panabaj. The mural serves as a timeline of the history of Panabaj territory. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | This artwork serves as an invitation to Panabaj community to learn about its history over time and to appropriate the knowledge that the community has. |
| Title | Mural co-created with Anadesa and Panabaj community 2 |
| Description | This mural is a metaphor for the transformations experienced by the community of Panabaj throughout its more than 700 years of history. The mural reflects the predominance of feminine energy from the representation of a tocoyal. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Reflections on the place of women in the history of the territory of Panabaj and their abilities to transform reality. |
| Title | Mustacilla that represents women's feelings and transformative work in Panabaj community |
| Description | Maria Panabaj organization has designed and weave a mustacilla to show how this group of women, survivors of the landslide occured in 2015, see their territory, representing both sorrow and happinness. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The women of María Panabaj have gained autonomy and independence, they have recognized their ability to transform their present and future. |
| Description | As a result of this research process three key findings have been made: 1) Living in areas declared at risk of disaster has resulted in a disconnection between people and their territories. Furthermore, due to the Guatemalan law, people who live in these areas are not eligible to receive basic services, water and electricity, amongst others. 2) Through the research process which was participatory and co-produced knowledge with local residents and organisations in two locations (Panabaj, Santiago Atitlan and Volcan de Fuego) the project supported a process whereby participants found new meanings and connection with their territories including establishing actions that support Disaster Risk Reduction. 3)Participatory research processes with communities who have been impacted by disasters can support recovery and generate transformation at different levels, including: a) understanding of local histories, b) enhancing connections between residents, c) enhancing community organisation, d)enhancing education and knowledge circulation. |
| Exploitation Route | The results from this award, have demonstrated that it is possible to co-produce knowledge with communities and to conduct research led by those who should benefit from it. The project has produced several outputs that demonstrate this, including an exhibit and three collective books. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Environment Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| Description | 1. Ixchel (originally from 2020-2023 was granted a no-cost extension until end of 2024) is a collaborative project that aims at supporting development objectives in Guatemala through Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). UEA lead an interdisciplinary work package that focuses on understanding people's experiences of risk and their relationship to their environment. This grant was subsequently transferred to the University of Edinburgh (NE/T010479/2). This project was heavily affected both by COVID-19 and by the GCRF budget cuts in 2021 with a cut of approximately 40% of its budget during the 21-22 financial year. This resulted in a significant reduction in activities that included having to focus on 2 case studies only. Despite the cuts and the delays caused by the pandemic, and by using methodologies that aim at generating impact, we are currently co-producing knowledge with indigenous communities and women affected by disasters and conflict and seeing some important early results. We are doing this through research activities that are based on participatory methods for knowledge production, and related engagement activities. We are generating impact through building valuable, usable and situated knowledge for DRR. We have already conducted workshops, meetings and other activities with communities at risk. We have developed new knowledge about the history of the disasters, and how it relates to other vulnerabilities in the communities. We have now produced outputs that support these activities at the local level with communities that include: 2 large scale murals, 1 large scale embroidery, 2 community co-developed books and an exhibit. In long term, this project will contribute directly to bridge the gap between community-based actions with the governmental agenda, which has been greatly disarticulated in Guatemala. The project is supporting communities achieve higher agency levels for disaster risk reduction and contribute directly to the livelihoods of people at risk. We also aim to support those who experienced forced displacement by the armed conflict in Guatemala which is the case for two of the communities we are working with. 2. In summary, the project has contributed to Capacity and capability building; Generating impact from research and Rapid response to emergencies with an urgent research need. In terms of the GCRF Challenge Areas: it supports Sustainable health and wellbeing ; Resilience and action on short-term environmental shocks and long-term environmental change And relating to the Sustainable Development Goals it supports: Goal 10. Reduce Inequality within and among countries. And Goal 16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. 3. In this project we strive to involve women and men in activities that relate to Disaster Risk and to open spaces for discussion that focus on DRR and strengthening the role of women in leadership roles with a clear intersectionality perspective that recognises class, gender and race in its engagement and research activities. We are convinced that the use of participatory and arts-based methods helps in shifting what can be generally described as unequal power relations in Guatemala. These innovative methodologies allows both men and women to participate and share creative narratives ideas, motivations and future scenarios to challenge hegemonic roles when the activities are undertaken. In terms of Gender Impacts we are currently working with three groups of women in two case studies. Specifically, we are supporting disaster risk activities by highlighting the role women have in their communities and their capacities to respond and recover from disasters. This work with women leaders is strengthening the capacity of local communities to respond to natural hazards and prevent disasters while also improving women's participation in decision making processes. The project will continue to work with these women for at least one more year and we expect to see tangible results in terms of policy but also in terms of local disaster risk reduction actions. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | GCRF and Newton Fund Consolidation Accounts Funding |
| Amount | ÂŁ25,374 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | "Territory, Power and Resistance", Meeting with women leaders from the communities of La Reyna, La Dignidad, Santa Rosa, Guachipilincito, Campemento, El Carrizal and La Cuarenta |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The objectives of this meeting was, firstly, to start working with several women leaders of their communities as a group, all together. Though the most important objective was to talk about their territories, how they are connected and the way they experience power and risk within them. Finally, to talk about the strategies of resistance theu develop to stay where they feel at home. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | 1st Collective Meeting Panabaj Community |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The meeting was designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas, to share insights of the research process that formal and non-formal organizations from Panabaj canton have come to along the participative research process. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | 1st Collective Meeting: Feeling-Thinking with the territory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The main objective of this meeting was for the women from the different communities around Volcan de Fuego (Siquinala, Escuintla and San Pedro Yepocapa), to get to know each other and start sharing and discussing their knowledges about their communities, how they have experienced risk within their territories and to get the big picture of how their communities are connected and therefore, how they can see themselves as united. An important outcome arouse after the meeting which is an incresing in the exchange of information and communication among the women . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Collective Meeting "Learning and creating together: Risks and Struggles in Volcan de Fuego" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The main objective was to collectively decide the product (as main outcome) of the group of women who are leaders of the communities surrounding Volcan de Fuego. The process arouse the desire to write a book that collects the stories and empirical knowledges of these women. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Collective writing workshop 14 women leader from Volcán de Fuego - Organising chapters |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was essential for designing the order of the story in the collective book written by the 14 women leaders of Volcán de Fuego and deciding the details of the design. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Collective writing workshop with 14 women leader from Volcán de Fuego - Making decisions about dissemination |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This workshop was necessary to review the information contained in the collective book written by the 14 women leaders of Volcán de Fuego. It also served to determine the next steps for the dissemination of the book. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Community and Indigenous voices in Disaster Risk Reduction - Plenary session at COV12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua, Guatemala (February 2024). This is a conference with a diverse audience that comprised professional practitioners, academics, people from communities in Guatemala (many of which are involved in different aspects of the Ixchel project), monitoring agencies, and civil protection. As this was a plenary talk, it was also open to the general public. Panelists: Alex Petzey, Community researcher, Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala; Christine Kenney, Professor of Disaster Risk Reduction at Massey University, New Zealand; Clyornique Williams, Community researcher, Fancy, St. Vincent; Edy Maldonado, CONRED, Guatemala Introducer & discussant: Eliza Calder, University of Edinburgh, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/program/ |
| Description | Dialogue of knowledge about the Red Zone (September, 6, 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Researchers from different disciplines and four organizations from the Panabaj community met to discuss from different perspectives (historical, physical, cultural, etc.) the imposition of a red zone in the territory of Panabaj. There were 28 participants from USA, UK and Guatemala. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Exhibit - Panabaj Research Results |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Around 100 people visited the exhibit that resulted from the participatory research work we have conducted in Panabaj, Guatemala. This included the history of the community, memories of the armed conflict and the disaster (landslide) in 2005. The exhibit also shows how the high risk area declaration (after the 2005 disaster) affects people who are still living in the area. Visitors included representatives from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinator of Guatemala, from the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala. The Deputy Director of CONRED visited the Exhibit and agreed to visit the community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Fieldtrip to Santiago Atitlán (Guatemala) associated with Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This field trip introduced participants to the Indigenous Tz'utujil Maya communities of Panabaj, Chuk Muk, Cerro de Oro, and Santiago Atitlán on the flanks of Tolimán volcano in the Atitlán caldera (Guatemala). Participants met with community members and learned about living and working there, explored Indigenous ways of relating to these landscapes, and visited sites associated with the Indigenous-centred Guatemalan feature film Cordillera de Fuego. The fieldtrip explored ongoing realities of balancing environmental risk with complex socio-economic pressures in marginalised communities and post-disaster resettlements in the wake of the 2005 Panabaj landslide. This was a unique opportunity for a diverse audience ranging from students to professional risk management practitioners to gain in-depth, first-hand experience with people to whom this 'red zone' is home. Led by Alex Petzey, Diego Reanda Sapalu, Eliza Calder, Ana Cabrera Pacheco, Thomas McKean, Teresa Armijos, Cristina Sala Valdes, Maya Sosof. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/tzutujil-maya/ |
| Description | Fieldtrip to the west side of Fuego Volcano associated with the Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua Guatemala |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This field trip combined observations of volcanic activity, a discussion of the hazards at Fuego with Guatemala scientists and community engagement. Participants spent three days and two nights at the Fuego Observatory in Panimache, with the opportunity to camp, watch Fuego erupt at night, eat over a campfire and discuss the challenges of living and working in the shadow of one of the most active volcanoes in Central America. Participants visited several valleys (Seca, Ceniza and Taniluya) on the Western flanks of Fuego down which pyroclastic flows and lahars travel and talked to leaders from communities exposed to volcanic such hazards, all under the leadership of Guatemala's most experience volcanologist, Gustavo Chigna. The fieldtrip highlighted the complexity of risk management in these remote communities on the west flank of Fuego Volcano. Led by Matthew Watson, Ailsa Naismith, Beth Bartel, Gustavo Chigna, William Chigna, Matthew Purvis |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/volcan-de-fuego-guatemala/ |
| Description | Final Meeting of Women Leaders from 'Volcan de Fuego" (November 21-23, 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 12 Women leaders from eight communities in Volcan de Fuego (Guatemala) met with the Ixchel team to reflect on the transformations that occurred throughout the research process. The workshop lasted three days along which women decided to mantain further relationship and formalize their work as a group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Finding resonance: Building an IAVCEI Commission on Indigenous People and Volcanology - Workshop at COV12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop at Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua, Guatemala (February 2024). This is a conference with a diverse audience that comprised professional practitioners, academics, people from communities in Guatemala (many of which are involved in different aspects of the Ixchel project), monitoring agencies, and civil protection. This workshop sought to identify and connect people who value and are invested in Indigenous people, Indigenous knowledge, and volcanology. Workshop goals centered on relationship-building and sharing knowledge, visions, and science. The workshop was a step in building community support, especially from Indigenous volcanologists, to create an IAVCEI Commission on Indigenous People and Volcanology, intended to provide an ongoing forum and resource for Indigeneity and volcanology across international groups. Organisers: Jonathan Procter, Eliza Calder, Alex Petzey, Carla Chun |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/content/uploads/2023/10/pre-4.pdf |
| Description | First Scientific Congress for Peace and Development (University of the Valley, Guatemala) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The presentation was titled: "Advances of Ixchel project: Community resilience". It was presented by Teresa Armijos. There were links created with the audience, that last till today. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Making the magic happen: methods and case studies for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange in volcanic risk - Session organised at COV12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Session organised at Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua, Guatemala (February 2024). This is a conference with a diverse audience that comprised professional practitioners, academics, people from communities in Guatemala (many of which are involved in different aspects of the Ixchel project), monitoring agencies, and civil protection. Conveners: Teresa Armijos Burneo, Monique Johnson, Jenni Barclay, Jeremy Phillips, Diego Sapalu, Eliza Calder, Nélida Manrique Session description: This session invites presentations from a variety of research projects or practice communities who have developed or implemented methodologies that support dialogues of knowledges between disciplines and beyond academia to understand and reduce volcanic risk. Finding ways to prevent disasters in the future while also learning from past experiences requires an understanding of the intersection between the social, environmental and cultural factors that define volcanic hazards and risk. This, in turn, requires interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogues. However, epistemological and cultural differences between different types of knowledge and disciplines pose important challenges for successful dialogue to take place. Although there are always differences in methodologies and approaches between disciplines, deeper structural differences, including hierarchies attached to some forms of knowledge, can prevent genuine and respectful exchanges taking place. This can stifle the creation of new knowledge for disaster risk reduction. In recent years, various projects and initiatives have incentivised exchange and dialogues between different groups of people, disciplines and practice communities. However, there is a need to share examples on how to do it in practice. This session therefore aims to explore methods and approaches that enhance knowledge co-creation and transcend methodological and epistemological differences between different actors, disciplines and groups of people to reduce volcanic disaster risk. We seek to invite presentations with a strong empirical component to discuss methodologies to co-produce knowledge around volcanic risk (be it hazard-related, policy, cultural, or social) while also reflecting on the challenges of doing this type of work. Presentations that discuss a wide variety of topics across different sectors, and stem from diverse academic and other traditions are encouraged. These might include but are not restricted to: participatory methodologies, citizen-science, instruments, data production through the use of social cartography and arts-based methods. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/program/ |
| Description | Participatory and Transdisciplinary work related to Disaster Risk Reduction - Plenary session at COV12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation at Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua, Guatemala (February 2024). This is a conference with a diverse audience that comprised professional practitioners, academics, people from communities in Guatemala (many of which are involved in different aspects of the Ixchel project), monitoring agencies, and civil protection. As this was a plenary talk, it was also open to the general public. Panelists: Eliza Calder, Professor of Volcanology, University of Edinburgh, UK; Rudiger Escobar-Wolf, Associate Professor, Michigan Technological University; Margarita Kenefic, Scriptwriter and actress, Casa de Producción, Guatemala Introducer & discussant: Teresa Armijos, University of Edinburgh, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/program/ |
| Description | Plural Dialogue of Knowledges of Disaster Risk Reduction (Panabaj Canton, September 7, 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The four groups from the community of Panabaj that are co-researchers of Workpackage 3 of the Ixchel project made a showcase of their co-created outputs: two painted murals, one embroidery, two books, a model, and some other artifacts such as paintings. All these outputs together tell a story of tranformation of the Community of Panabaj. Around 40 international people from differente disciplines (Vulcanology, Physics, Geography, Social Sciences, etc.) attended this workshop and, from their own knowledge, engaged in a dialogue that helped re-interpret distaster risk reduction. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Relationships with the Red Zone - Session organised at COV12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Session organised at Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua, Guatemala (February 2024). This is a conference with a diverse audience that comprised professional practitioners, academics, people from communities in Guatemala (many of which are involved in different aspects of the Ixchel project), monitoring agencies, and civil protection. Conveners: Eliza Calder, Monique Johnson, Ana Cabrera, Teresa Armijos, Thomas McKean Session description: We invite presentations related to the realities and complexities of living within, or reinhabiting, Red Zones, "exclusion zones", or areas deemed by state authorities as being "uninhabitable" around volcanoes. While these demarcated spaces are no-go areas in geological or disaster risk management terms, the lived reality and immediate needs of those that sometimes inhabit, or inhabited, them is more complex. In many cases, and for diverse reasons, people need to continue to live and/or work in these spaces. Common drivers for this are the sustainability of livelihoods, no viable alternative living spaces provided by governments or municipalities, and lack of resources. In other cases, people leave for periods of time, returning when immediate danger is past, and/or life elsewhere becomes difficult. Some live a mobile life between their old home and their new, negotiating a complex re-imagining of "home", drawing on the resources of both spaces to piece together new lives. In some places communities are condemned to an increasingly marginal existence with no provision of water, electricity, or schools by a state which does not support their existence. In turn, such conditions can increase risk further. In other cases there are blatant double standards in which communities condemned to little or no infrastructural support have to witness high-profile infrastructure like roads and bridges being restored or constructed because these places are economically important thoroughfares. Macro-scale economic imperatives often contradict and take precedence over DRR and basic human rights at the local level. We invite presentations related to on-the-ground knowledge of conditions, spaces, and places disturbed, destroyed, or at risk from environmental impact as well as the community's history, cultural and livelihood needs and ways of life. We aim to discuss the complex and often contradictory realities of the red zone. We will conclude the talk session with a panel discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/program/ |
| Description | UK Alliance for Disaster Research Annual Conference 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The paper was titled: "Changing Landscapes: co-producing collective knowledge through citizen science for disaster risk reduction". It was presented by Teresa Armijos. It was awarded as the best paper of the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | UK Alliance for Disaster Research Annual Conference 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The paper was titled: Community Resignification of a Red Zone: Decolonial-Participatory Research Process in Panabaj Territory (Guatemala) to an audience of 60 people. The presentation arouse many questions from the audience related to participatory methodologies. It was presented by Cristina Sala and Teresa Armijos. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Women on and around volcanoes: Care in the community - Session organised at COV12 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Session organised at Cities on Volcanoes 12 conference in Antigua, Guatemala (February 2024). This is a conference with a diverse audience that comprised professional practitioners, academics, people from communities in Guatemala (many of which are involved in different aspects of the Ixchel project), monitoring agencies, and civil protection. Convenors: Cristina Sala Valdés, Amy Donovan, Norma Beltrán, Teresa Armijos, Eliza Calder, Jenni Barclay, Jan Lindsay Panelists: Eliza Calder, Jenni Barclay, Jan Lindsay, Marta Calvache, Norma Beltrán, Carmen Soledad Azurdia, Liliana Argueta, Sarai Perez Session description: This session will focus particularly on the role(s) and experiences of women working on applied aspects of volcanic risk - whether within the academy or beyond it. We seek to explore feminist approaches to understanding volcano-human relationships, paying attention to the experiences, identities and connections within those relationships, exploring how the stresses and responsibility associated with a territory, livelihood and/or community at risk leaves an imprint in the body. At the same time, we aim to unfold situated concepts such as resistance, recovery and power. All of the latter includes the practice of an 'ethic of care' in how we work with communities and with each other. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://congress.iavceivolcano.org/program/ |
| Description | XIII Latin American Peace Research Congress of the Latin American Peace Research Council (CLAIP). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The paper was titled: "Environmental peace in tension: views from Tolima (Colombia) and Santiago Atitlan (Guatemala)". It was presented by Cristina Sala |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |