Historically, technology transfer has been associated with efforts to construct mechanisms allowing the exporting/importing of technologies globally, more often than not, with questionable results. In this project, we co-opt this term and its historical understanding to name a nascent movement of grassroots knowledge dissemination at a regional scale in rural Colombia.
This project builds upon tensions between long-standing traditions of self-determination, predominantly from Afro-Colombian farmers and Indigenous groups, and the mainstream model of venture-based businesses or dependence on imported technology within the technology development sector in Colombia. We use this space to explore alternatives considering transitioning to technology development models in harmony with nature and society locally.
The project's goals are (1) to co-create/redesign and expand, along with local collectives in Colombia, a portfolio of technologies and (2) co-develop a technology transfer strategy driven by these same collectives, to learn and exchange technological knowledge. This knowledge reciprocation is what we refer to as Regional Technology Ecosystems.
As part of this initiative, we have launched two learning experiences: