Sumak Kawsay

In Andean communities in Latin America development is expressed through the notion of sumak kawsay, the Quechua word for ‘buen vivir’, or ‘good living’ or ‘well living’ has been proposed as an alternative conception of development and has been incorporated into the constitutions of Ecuador and Suma Qamaña ‘Vivir Bien’ in Bolivia. It connotes a harmonious collective development that conceives of the individual within the context of the social and cultural communities and his or her natural environment.[1]

Rooted in the indigenous belief system of the Quechua, the concept incorporates western critiques of dominant development models to offer an alternative paradigm based on harmony between human beings, as well as between human beings and their natural environments. The concept has inspired the recent revision of the Constitution of Ecuador which refers to a ‘new form of public co-existence, in diversity and in harmony with nature, to achieve the good way of living, the sumak kawsay’. The Constitution is based on the recognition of the ‘right of the population to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment that guarantees sustainability and the good way of living (sumak kawsay)’. The Constitution further specifies that the following shall be a responsibility of the State: ‘To promote the generation and production of knowledge, to foster scientific and technological research, and to upgrade ancestral wisdom to thus contribute to the achievement of the good way of living (sumak kawsay).’[1]

Art. 14 - Se reconoce el derecho de la población a vivir en un ambiente sano y ecológicamente equilibrado, que garantice la sostenibilidad y el buen vivir, sumak kawsay; Art. 387.- Será responsabilidad del Estado: […] 2. Promover la generación y producción de conocimiento, fomentar la investigación científica y tecnológica, y potenciar los saberes ancestrales, para así contribuir a la realización del buen vivir, al sumak kawsay

— Articles no. 14 and no. 387 of the Constitution of Ecuador[1]

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 Rethinking Education. Towards a Global Common Good?, p32, UNESCO. To learn how to add open license text to Wikipedia articles, please see Wikipedia:Adding open license text to Wikipedia. For information on reusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rethinking Education. Towards a Global Common Good? (PDF). UNESCO. 2015. p. 32. ISBN 978-92-3-100088-1.
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