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Tense Collaborations And Exchange Interrupted: Gendered Participation In Ecological Agriculture Projects In Post-Neoliberal(?) Bolivia, Jenny J. Cockburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Bolivian development NGO's effort to increase the scope and value of ecological agriculture, agrobiodiversity and food sovereignty in its work with marginalized farming communities in Norte de Potosí, shares these concerns with the Bolivian State. Yet tensions run high between applying neoliberal frameworks to 'empower' farmers and resisting neoliberal approaches to strengthen Bolivia's sovereignty vis-à-vis the global North. Despite a significant backlash, neoliberalism continues to complicate sustainable development, participatory ideals and local/scientific knowledges, by both facilitating and challenging efforts toward collaboration. This becomes most clear when examined through the lens of gender. To analyze this process, the conceptual framework …