Description
Weaving a Fabric of Unity shares the story of FUNDAEC (the Foundation for the Application and Teaching of Science), a non-governmental organization found in Cali, Colombia in 1974, and highlights five decades of stories, learning, and insight from key individuals central to shaping its evolution. The book outlines FUNDAEC's unique conceptual and methodological approach, which is focused on the releasing of human potentialities and the integration of theory and practice so that a population may carry out action and research related to its social, economic, and cultural life. Weaving a Fabric of Unity brings the reader on the journey of how the organization created one of Latin America's most innovative curricula in rural development. It shares how FUNDAEC's focus on raising up individuals and communities dedicated to the promotion of community wellbeing supported its efforts to organically scale over the last few decades. The program now reaches hundreds of thousands of students across Colombia, and is being adopted in over a dozen countries to support diverse populations working towards the collective realization of a dignified future. Preface
Introduction
Weaving Our Stories Together
Textiles of Trust
Interwoven Commitments
A Living Tapestry
Releasing Human Potentialities
Picking Up the Threads
Postscript
Bibliography Haleh Arbab is currently the founding director of the Center for Research in Education for Development (CRED), where her work focuses on fostering community-based approaches to research and education internationally.
Gustavo Correa was one of the founders of FUNDAEC in 1974 and served as its director from 1988 to 2005.
Bradley Wilson is associate professor of geography and executive director of the West Virginia University Center for Resilient Communities. For the past five years, Wilson has collaborated with FUNDAEC on projects focused on its educational programs and building the capacity of its research teams working on food sovereignty in Norte del Cauca. "The story of FUNDAEC in Colombia is one of the most inspiring educational processes of the 20th century and is vitally important today. Every student of development economics should read this book." - Nava Ashraf, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics
"Weaving a Fabric of Unity is a timely and brilliant gift to those of us concerned with education and social transformation. With rising recognition that decades of educational programs and initiatives aimed at fostering global prosperity and change have fallen short of realizing their initial aspirations, many in the field of education are searching for viable and impactful alternatives. The story of FUNDAEC is an urgent call to reframe the purpose of education itself." - Shabnam Koirala-Azad, Dean of Education, University of San Francisco
