The findings suggest that seeking wellbeing and the provision for decent living standards are key motives for the ICOs. It is interesting to see how the IOGs embarked on a
“collective and communal journey” which determined the set of motivations that they drew upon to launch their ventures. The IOGs born out of family groups (see section
3.6) where values and ethics are central. Thus, the findings indicate that the ICOs adopt family and community values (that are usually non-homogenous) as points of inspiration from which to develop their own projects to meet the collective needs.
One example to illustrate this is provided by one of the co-founders of the Asociación de Artesanos y Artesanas de Shiruria, who recognised how the decision to set up an association was motivated by the need to address the issues that the families and the community were facing, and the sense of solidarity or team spirit that families expressed at difficult times. He stressed:
We decided to set up the organisation more than anything to improve the quality of life of the community and the families… we were impressed how families were helping to each other and have demonstrated that the whole community was a big one… we transformed the traditional arts of the Wayúu culture into a business idea in which the whole community could be benefited from... one family or the entire family of the village or those who are part of our association [Cofounder, VIWA1, CS5].
The case study findings reveal that the objective of improving the wellbeing of the families and community is manifested informally. An important point that emerges from the interviewees and participants from the focus groups is that at the informal level, indigenous families get involved in community tasks to tackle local issues. Although within the vast majority of the ICOs, the participants reported having been motivated to set up their organisations by the need to improve the conditions and meet the needs of their communities (see Tables 6.1 and 6.2), it is also highlighted that before formalisation, families gathered and led community activities to tackle local issues and/or needs (see Box 6.5).
Box 6.5 IOGs’ Informal Activities
When any of our families in the community happen to face an issue … we all organise and make sure that this issue is resolved… it is part of our indigenous culture… the wellbeing of the community is linked with the wellbeing of our families [Public Administrator, VIYA2, CS2].
We practice minga for everything … La minga is a fundamental part of our culture … when some dies we all gathered and make sure nothing is missing for the family of the deceased person… we all give them food and sometimes money… usually at funerals everybody in the community goes and people offer food… we have to organise to assure that the funeral will have everything needed [Community Member, V1MK7, CS1].
Funerals in our culture is a very important celebration… this is the time when families had the opportunity to show how respectable they are… That is why we give to the deceased person’s family goats… all families must give something … it is a cultural obligation [Teacher / Community Member, WAFG 1.10, CS5].
This point connects with the multi-level approach suggested by the author in Chapter 3 (see section 3.6), in which at a micro level the IOGs are constituted by indigenous families and organise themselves to perform collective tasks. On this matter, what the findings suggest in a number of cases is that there is a very fine line between informality and formality, and that in many cases the formalisation of the IOGs was not needed.
Many participants in the focus groups suggested that at times formality fractured the spontaneity of the collective work and created some tensions by introducing organisational structures within the process of collective work. However, they also acknowledged the fact formalisation brought other advantages to the objective of delivering family and community wellbeing which included professionalisation, diversification of the tasks and widening networking (Box 6.6).
Box 6.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Formalising the IOGs
Sometimes people do not want to be part of the organisation…but they want to help the community if needed… Sometimes they do not want responsibilities … when the community need something, people help for the sake of our community because this is part of our culture…have a sense of collectiveness… but it does not mean that they want to be part of the association [Cultural Ambassador, YAFG1.8, CS2].
I think is easier to persuade people to collaborate when money isn’t involved… they help free for their families and their communities… it is an embedded feature of indigenous people… you give them and they give you back … but when they give you they do not normally do it to have something back … I think this is very unusual in the western world [General Manager, CUFG1.2, CS3].
The impact that we see with this new organization is to have a better life ... that is ... the ideal. Or a future, for the family, for the community itself. So that one day, the ... the new generation that comes along take the same path that we are starting. That would be something … the organisation is not only for today is for tomorrow’s life and for our future generations [Vice-President, PUFG1.2, CS4].
And get here to the city or urban areas ... to a place like these is really hard for displaced families. Family has to eat and survive …what happens to what happened to Milton's family, what do they live out? They do not have the instructions, the intellectual elements to live here in the city … they do not have education from here. They are landless! ...
Akayú is born there. Akayú is a proposal to solve issues like that and find a solution for that… to provide opportunities for indigenous families… that do not know how to operate in urban spaces…they of course help to each other in their resguardo but here in the city they need to learn the skills to survive
[Cofounder, CUFG1.1, CS4].
By formalising an organisation, we could connect with people from other areas of the country and the community like this… They feel more confident and recognised… the association opens up the door to find other things and other worlds different than ours and we could take advantage of that … and is good for our wellbeing as we learn from others [Community Member, WAFG 1.3, CS5].
Another interesting point that appears in the collected data is that when participants refer to wellbeing and living standards, not necessarily addressing economic means, but are rather addressing local needs based on their cosmovision, words such as nature, autonomy, dignity and cultural recognition are widely used. Wellbeing in this context appears to be disengaged from socio-economic needs, and therefore is identified as a separate motive. One of the participants from the focus groups pointed out:
Our wellbeing is simple that it seems…. we do not need the last mobile phone, a great job or a massive house…. we only want to fulfil our basics needs: shelter, food, territory, preserve our nature and being recognised as indigenous people…we have everything in the jungle… we don’t need anything else [Member, CUFG 1.6, CS4].
This can be related to the BV dimension of the plural worldview, in which the world can be seen from different perspectives, and society should be built upon inclusiveness (i.e., Guandinango Vinueza, 2013; Huanacuni, 2010). Here, the findings demonstrate that in the majority of the cases, wellbeing is related to other factors than money and economic wealth, and the living standards are related to the enjoyment of life at a basic level, subject to culture, nature, territoriality and spirituality.
Table 6.1 Raison d'être: Motives for the ICOs’ Existence, Internal Drivers
Internal Factors
MOTIVES
(CHARACTERISTICS) INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATIONS (ICOs)*
CS1 CS2 CS3 CS4 CS5
Wellbeing The pursuit of the
wellbeing of their
*CS1: Cooperativa Indígena las Delicias/Asociación Botánica las Delicias; CS2: Finca Lechera el Paraíso; CS3: Akayú; CS4: Asociación Dugjin; CS5: Asociación de Artesanos