Output details

Affirming Life and Diversity. Rural images and voices on food sovereignty in south India

Research questions

Two questions guided this research: i) Can decentralised governance, local institutions, farmer knowledge and participation contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty in the drylands of south India? ii) How can modern digital video technology help facilitate research with, for and by people – rather than on people – for learning and change?

Methodology

Participatory methodologies supported power-equalising research that gave the least powerful actors more significant roles than before in the production and validation of knowledge. The methodological design enabled:

• Free prior informed consent and jointly developed rules of engagement

• Formation of safe spaces – in which actors involved can gain confidence, discuss, analyse, mobilize and act on the basis of a shared vision

• Cognitive justice – acknowledging the right for different knowledge systems to exist. In this instance, participatory video film-making allowed marginalized farmers to not only express their knowledge but also affirm its legitimacy and validity.

• Extended peer review. Both powerful and less powerful actors were involved in co-validating the research and knowledge produced.

Dissemination

Research processes and outcomes were presented in (inter)national fora, - including the 2008 Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn (Germany), Government in India (2010), and courses at Cornell University (USA), University of London (UK), University of Hohenheim (Germany), and three Universities in India. Two of the films are available on Internet thereby ensuring global dissemination. Feedback on impacts confirms that this REF output sets a unique precedent on how to include marginalised people in research on food security and governance in India. Outcomes of this research are a milestone in the history of participatory video, - producing images that empower marginalised women farmers.