Rural Communities in Ecuador: Relationships between Culture, Nature, Disasters, Tourism, and Cultural Heritage (Phase 6)

This qualitative research project, developed by the Culture Studies Research Group (GIEC) at the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, analyzes sociocultural dynamics in rural communities in the provinces of Esmeraldas and Azuay. The study addresses how local populations face tensions related to community-based tourism, environmental preservation, cultural heritage, and disaster risk management. The methodological approach is based on ethnography and thick description, allowing for the interpretation of struggles of meaning and territorial changes that suggest processes of rural gentrification. Through comparative fieldwork, the project examines the gap between official public policies and the realities of the communities, questioning corporate tourism models that often strip local inhabitants of their resources and identity-based visions. As a result, the project has generated academic outputs, including scientific articles and conference papers, as well as practical tools such as informative booklets for social risk management. These actions seek to return knowledge to the communities, strengthening their capacity to respond to threats and promoting a critical understanding of their environment.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To uncover, from an anthropological perspective, the struggles of meaning generated around the practices and visions of rural communities in Ecuador regarding tourism, nature, culture, and the social construction of risk. The study aims to analyze processes of rural gentrification and the impact of tourism models in marine-coastal and urban territories.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>Anthropological studies