[Economics] Regenerative economy or "thinking about modernity without ceasing to be Indians"

[#Wittels-]

The 'Actuar Por Lo Vivo' event, held in Medellín this week, reflects on holistic productivity models, systemic health and new democracies

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“What would happen if we built economics on ethics? Different employment models, other ways of producing... We are very used to doing things very alone, with distrust of politicians and business actors. But alone, none of the sectors will be able to build the alternatives that society needs”. With these words, Claudio Madaune reflected this Thursday in one of the twelve conversations of the Actuar por lo vivo festival, held at the Museum of Modern Art in Medellín, from April 26 to May 6. The Chilean permaculture expert and project coordinator at the Norwegian NGO Change the World questioned whether progress implies growth at all costs, the individual role of each citizen and regeneration.

The regenerative economy was one of the key concepts of this talk. This relatively recently coined term, which is based on the principles of restoration, is based on returning a system or product to its original state or even an improved state. In the words of María Alejandra González, professor of management and social responsibility at Eafit University: “These are processes that require healing. With this word we already recognize the wound that we are causing to the ecosystems; there is something damaged and we have to cure it”. Arturo Escobar, one of the great anthropologists and thinkers of the country, during his presentation this Friday, added a reflection of a Bolivian thinker who said: "We have to think about modernity without ceasing to be Indians."

For the caleño, the pursuit of economic growth is what created inequality and the dismantling of the environment. "In post-development or good living, everything alive and all those beliefs of the indigenous communities are definitely a great main actor." And he added: “Humanity has wondered about colonization, modernity, US imperialism and identity. The question now is about praxis. What do we do as intellectuals?

The meeting, sponsored by an alliance between Comfama, the publishing house Actes Sud, and Comuna: faire cause commune, has more than 40 national and international guests: scientists, activists, companies concerned about their impact, and entrepreneurs who have made a “big scale” on a small scale. revolution". This is how Isabel Codavid, managing ecologist of Agromandala, defined a circular farm located in Fredonia, Antioquia, which grows, harvests and sells fresh food free of pesticides for 80 families. “Companies are based on the decisions we make as consumers. It is true that not all of us can be farmers, but we all eat," he explained in front of fifty people who attended as audience.

For David Escobar Arango, director of Comfama, it is very important that these types of events take place outside the offices of great leaders. “We propose an integrating look between different professions and disciplines. We seek to inhabit a conversation, generate reflection and make people leave with questions. This is a platform for civil society to also organize and carry out projects”. Another of the key points is, precisely, talking about regeneration. “For a long time there was talk about the conservation of what had not yet been damaged, after sustainability. But for me that is like going out to tie. Regeneration is going out to win”.

For her part, María Adelaida Correa, ISA's director of Sustainability, added: “Our purpose is to leave a legacy that generates awareness, inspires, transforms and transcends for generations. We are convinced that the best footprint is the protection of biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change. Today, as companies and as people, we are called to work for regenerative development, mobilize our management towards the use of resources that guarantee the well-being of communities and build resilience for the environment, while generating support for the needs of the future ” .

New democracies, economies for regeneration and systemic and planetary health are the three pillars on which a festival of French origin held for the second time in Latin America is based. Isabelle Delannoy, specialist in sustainable development; Hugo Jamioy, poet from the Kamsá indigenous people; Martín von Hildebrand, anthropologist and founder of the Gaia Amazonas Foundation; Juliette Rousseau, editor of Le Commun (French publisher that publishes women's poetry)... are some of the experts who, in a didactic and participatory way, are thinking out loud and looking for ways to inhabit the planet in a coherent way.

think of solutions
Today few dare to deny climate change and its impacts. The rise in sea level, deforestation, the extinction of species, droughts and disasters... But in this festival, the question is another: What can we do? The focus of the talks is purposeful and hopeful. David Escobar prefers the term “possibilism”: “We do not want to fall into irrational optimism or pessimism. There are some challenges, we put them on the table and face them. If we do all we can do at the right time, maybe we will build a better world."

The festival, according to the director, seeks to weave collaborative networks between regional, national and international audiences, to generate specific transformation actions around cross-cutting issues. As Delannoy reflected in the discussion From extractive to regenerative economies for an era of new abundance: "We have to find a way to look each other in the eye and understand each other."

 

Link: https://elpais.com/america-futura/2023-05-05/economia-regenerativa-o-pensar-en-la-modernidad-sin-dejar-de-ser-indios.html