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65 Alejandro Argumedo
Box 2: Study groups
Study groups have been a key approach used
throughout ANDES work with the Potato Park
communities. Their objective is to systematically
gather and analyse existing local knowledge and to
generate new knowledge through dialogue. These
groups are defined territorially. Meetings take place
in convenient locations such as traditional family
and group meeting spaces in the evenings. They
employ a variety of appropriate tools and
techniques such as participant observation, video
documentation, interviews, narratives, informal
conversations, focus groups, surveys and
questionnaires. During the BCP process there were
six main study groups (one for each of the park’s
communities) of between eight and 15 people,
depending on community size, including a mix of
traditional authorities, adults, elders and youth of
both sexes.
• Thematic working groups which identified key themes to be addressed.
Discussions focused on the principles and
practices identified in the literature review
such as voluntad (willingness), ayni
(mutual assistance) and minka (exchange
of labour), where equity in distribution of
benefits/goods is a function of the equitable
distribution of work. These groups
provided important capacity-building for
researchers, especially in relation to integration of traditional knowledge (TK) and
indigenous concepts and approaches.
• Study groups held in-depth discussions
on themes identified in the thematic working groups. Participants identified
principles derived from customary law
relevant to the context of access to biological and genetic resources, associated
knowledge and benefit-sharing. The study
groups also created capacity among
community members and provided valuable input into the project research on
indigenous concepts (Box 2).
• Participant observation was an important approach to research on customary
laws because the customary laws of
Quechua people are not written down, but
embodied in everyday actions. Customary
laws influence benefit-sharing in terms of
the distribution of seeds, agricultural work,
Box 3: Customary laws related to access
and benefit-sharing
Reciprocity (Ayninakuy ): what is received must
be paid back in equal measure. All of the elements
of nature, including human beings, give and receive,
contributing to the common good and harmony of
the world. Ayni is the mechanism by which the
principle of reciprocity finds expression; therefore
ayni, defined as mutual assistance, can be applied
both to people and to elements of nature. This
principle can be seen in seed exchanges among
the communities and in the distribution of
agricultural work.
Duality (Yanantin ): the cosmos is divided into two
opposite but complementary halves. This can be
seen in the division of labour between men and
women (which, while differentiated, does not
denote superiority or subservience, but mutual
interdependence); or between rights and
obligations, both of which should be met to achieve
harmony and maintain equilibrium. This principle
can be found in the transmission of knowledge
related to agricultural practices, where the roles of
women and men complement each other.
Equilibrium (Rakinakuy ): refers to proportion and
harmony with nature (Pachamama, Mother Earth),
the sacred world, and among community members
– for example, respect for nature and mountain
gods, and the resolution of conflicts to restore social
harmony and complementarity (including between
ecological niches). Equilibrium needs to be
observed in the application of customary laws. This
principle is related to a fair and proportionate
distribution of profits in relation to needs,
capabilities, responsibilities, contributions and
efforts. This criterion also features in conflict
resolution and decision-making, ensuring the
impartiality of all actors.
the use and inheritance of land, and the
transmission of knowledge at the individual, communal, regional and generational
levels.
These approaches led to the identification of three Andean principles –
reciprocity, duality and equilibrium – that
underpin the practices of administering
traditional resources (Box 3). These principles and other community inputs were
then put into practice in the creation of a
draft inter-community biocultural protocol.
The drafting process identified the
common interests of the communities, the