Saberes enraizados: proyecto educativo transversal para la integración de conocimientos campesinos de la zona de reserva campesina en la IED integrada de cabrera (Cundinamarca), mediante la investigación acción en el aula.

Abstract

This research examines the tensions between standardized school knowledge (curriculum determined by authorities) and peasant knowledges (saberes campesinos—traditional, locally grounded knowledge) at the Institución Educativa Departamental (IED) Integrada de Cabrera. The school is in the Peasant Reserve Zone (ZRC, areas supporting rural populations) of Cabrera in Sumapaz. The study tackles the ongoing epistemological divide that renders territorial knowledge (local, experience-based knowledge) invisible and favors urban-centric, uniform curricula. Using a qualitative approach and Classroom Action Research (CAR), a participatory research method for educational improvement, the "Cátedra Campesina" (Peasant Studies) was designed and implemented as a cross-curricular project. The project centers on building critical territorialities (sense of place shaped by local realities), reclaiming memory, and integrating community knowledge into the curriculum. Methods included field diaries, social cartography (community-generated spatial mapping), interviews, and focus groups. The findings show that rural education is affected by the dynamics of standardization. These dynamics tend to decontextualize teaching processes and create a rift between the school and peasant life. However, experiences such as meliponiculture with native bees, Andean bear monitoring using camera traps, seed exchanges, school gardens, and territorial memory exercises help close this gap. They promoted a dialogue of knowledges (diálogo de saberes) among students, teachers, and the community. The study shows that curricular transversality and validating the knowledge of local mayoras (female elders respected for their wisdom and leadership) and traditional knowledge-bearers (those who maintain and share ancestral practices and cultural heritage) strengthen territorial attachment. They also redefine peasant identity, shifting the notion of the countryside from backwardness to dignity, sovereignty, and political awareness. This pedagogical practice shows a commitment to re-existence and cognitive justice in Colombian rural education.