Constructing from the commons: transited doings in a doctoral research process

Abstract

In this article, we share the synthesis of a six-year experience of collaborative work and co-construction of knowledge that was part of a doctoral research process. This process involved authorities and families of the Kolla Kondorwaira Native Community of Potrero de Castilla, province of Salta, Argentina, as well as members of the Energy Planning and Territorial Management research group of the Institute for Research on Non-Conventional Energy, National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, National University of Salta (PEyGeT/INENCO/CONICET/UNSA).
The doctoral research process went through several stages, including: sharing a certain curiosity to get to know each other, searching for common work objectives, identifying problems and possible alternative solutions, creating tools to facilitate collaborative work, until consolidating a relationship of trust, commitment, affection and affection that is still valid today.
From a transdisciplinary perspective, which recognizes diverse spaces for the production of knowledge, carried out through a methodological approach in congruence with Participatory Action Research, dialogue of knowledge and collaborative ethnography, we not only obtained the production of a doctoral thesis, but also other results, achievements and impacts that are part of what we have called a spiral platform of collaborative work.
We consider this experience as another form of scientific work, where the research process bet on the generation of knowledge collectively built between an indigenous community and the academy. We value both ways of generating knowledge, recognizing that their complementarity contributes positively to the resolution of specific problems, as well as to the construction of possible common futures that are drawn with justice and dignity.