Saneamento em comunidades étnicas rurais na Colômbia: estudo de caso Conselho Comunitário El Arenal Município de Atrato, Chocó

Abstract

Access to sanitation services is one of the greatest needs for health, quality of life and community development. In traditional ethnic communities, such as black and indigenous populations, as well as other peasant populations, given the lack of public policies, sanitation management is carried out by themselves. In many rural communities, the forms of sewage disposal are inadequate, nonexistent, or represent a challenge for management. Sometimes, imposed conventional technology solutions lack cultural and environmental adequacy and appropriation. The present work sought to carry out a technical-cultural assessment of sanitation management in rural ethnic communities in Colombia, using the black community of the El Arenal community council, in the municipality of Atrato, department of Chocó, Colombia, as a case study. The qualitative research methodology was implemented in four stages: Definition and planning, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), case analysis and finally conclusions and proposals. Through the DRP method, the community shared its experiences and knowledge in sanitation management. Based on this methodology, the Participatory Community Research Program (PPCC) was designed and developed, with workshops where the DRP methodological tools were applied, allowing data to be obtained for the analysis of various social, historical, cultural, environmental, and social variables. sanitation, health, political and economic of rural ethnic communities in sanitation management, presented with narrative exposition. The case study allowed understanding the management of sanitation in Afrodescendant communities in Chocó. A report is presented of each of the variables in triangulation with the results obtained in the field, in dialogue with the theory. As a product, the criteria for designing technologies for the management of domestic sewage in rural ethnic communities that respect cultural diversity and guarantee the conservation and sustainability of the environment are presented.