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TOWARDS SELF-SUSTAINED SOCIETIES - APPLIED RESEARCH PROJECTS

Future research

The scientific objectives of this project have two specific dimensions. The first one intends to build an empirical conceptual basis that will allow us to deepened and consolidate our understanding on the phenomenon related to eco-sustainability patterns used by some communities in their daily lives. According with the specific research fields and experiences of the researchers involved and the logistic conditions and possible partnerships existing in the area we will try to focus this project in two specific countries of subsaharan Africa. Regarding this first main objective we divided it into five specific objects that will allow us to describe in a more accurate perspective our strategy. First of them is the possibility to articulate this projects with the research interests and needs of several master and Phd students allowing them to have field experience. The second one consists on performing training sessions in the field in a perspective of sustainable pedagogy so that locals as well as our students may benefit from several workshops. The third one implies a strong articulation between different research fields working within the same specific environment with the same collective goals developing a transdisciplinary overview involving economy, health, education, gender, renewable energies, recycling and food problems. It is also our intention to promote the articulation of several levels of knowledge in a transdisciplinar and transcultural way, and so our fourth specific objective previews the involvement of locals as well as students and researchers in a non ethnocentric way, valuing each one’s knowledge and resources. In order to share and discuss the results and strategies experimented in the field we defined our fifth specific objective as the creation of conditions to promote the participation in congresses, conferences and workshops as well as the edition of several publication on related issues. Regarding the second general dimension of this project we defined it as the establishment of strategies and local partnerships. In order to achieve it we intend to build and develop a Training and Resources Center in the field with endogenous and adapted resources, as well as appropriate technologies available for all interested users and functioning as a matrix for the entire project. Following this strategy we will also consider a strong work of articulation and support to local resources (public institutions, NGO’s, associations).

Researchers

• António Jacinto Rodrigues (leader)
• Carlos Manuel Ferreira Peixoto Couto
• Álvaro Pereira