Action research is a well-established and continually shaping methodology first emerging through the contradictions of development work and anthropology. Research undertaken in one place, led by “experts”, to create value not in the area being researched but in the home of the funding country, was criticised. Action research evolved out of that to specify an iterative cycle of theory and praxis: reflection, action, reflection and action.
The Soil Regeneration Project is our attempt at piloting a form of community-led action research work: one that specifies research that builds bottom-up and horizontal forms of organising, undertaken and led by communities working for their own benefit. This grounds theory and praxis in the vocabulary and practices of people, not institutions.
We are creating a platform for knowledge co-creation to take place with input from a diverse range of people: students, retirees, gardeners, farmers, teachers and educators, enterprising founders, and writers, filmmakers, video creators, doers and imaginers of a more social and ecological world.
Some things we’re working towards:
- a wiki
- short videos
- community soil manuals (the first is on its way!)
We’re looking to expand our team! Check out our intern call.