Mayan epistemology, territorial connection, and Buen Vivir: a practical path forward for sustainability education

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday V)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Indigenous epistemology, sustainability, and adult education

Proposal

Almost all indigenous cultures have a unique understanding of what it means to live well. For the Mayan people of Guatemala, the "good life" is characterized by a life of balance, of proper relationships with the community and the land which holds them, and the fullness of a simple yet meaningful existence.

The distinctive cosmovision, spirituality, territorial belonging, and way of life of Guatemala’s highland indigenous communities offer needed wisdom, guidance, and a practical path forward in light of such global crises as the disintegration of communities, the loss of meaning, and the destruction of the natural environment.

In the hyper-developed societies of the western world, a challenge to the dominant paradigm is also slowly beginning to emerge. Young people especially, with a growing awareness of the ecological and social maladies that inevitably accompany the civilization we have fashioned, are seeking alternatives that go beyond the shallow and trivial options presented to them by traditional politics and social movements.

The search for meaningful and concrete alternatives stems from a frustration with the incongruity of the industrial way of life and the irrationality of what has become the status quo.

Lamentably, most educational opportunities do little to encourage young people to question the dominant, western-centric civilizational paradigm. As a result, young people in the “developed” world who begin to perceive the absurdities of the post-industrial, consumer-oriented way of life are often left dissatisfied with the range of options open to them to develop coherent, articulate, and lucid alternatives that respond honestly to the problems we collectively face. This frustration can lead to confusion, uncertainty, and an inability to articulate a meaningful path forward.

The Utz Kaslimaal Collective has several years of experience in organizing cross-cultural learning experiences that expose young western students to the wisdom and knowledge of traditional Mayan communities across Guatemala. Rooted in the conviction that Mayan epistemology and understanding of the “good life” is a repository of practical and conceptual tools to confront our civilizational crises, we seek to create space for indigenous knowledge, practice, and experience to be shared with non-indigenous learners, and also between indigenous peoples from across the Americas.

The Western-centric worldview supposes that progress and wellbeing are synonymous with industrial development, economic growth, technological advance, specialized education, purchasing power, and more consumerism. These foundations are rarely seen, let alone questioned by mainstream society. Through engagement with an indigenous, non-western cosmovision, young people are provided the space to begin to identify and explore their commonly held presuppositions about reality.

This first step of recognizing one’s own worldview in light of an encounter with a radically different culture is a valuable tool that can help young people discern palpable and real alternatives for the creation of a new paradigm.

Further understanding of how to facilitate this kind of cross-cultural experiential learning encounter that strengthens students’ ability to identify the blind spots created by their western worldview and ultimately leading to personal transformation is an important discovery for the CIES community.

Lastly, the experience of the Utz Kaslimaal Collective in effectively introducing young, western students to the radically different epistemology of rural, traditional Mayan communities is also an important contribution to the CIES community and to sustainability education in general.

Author

• Tobias Paul Roberts, Utz Kaslimaal Collective