LATIN-AM-Latin-Amerika-programmet

This research has addressed two interrelated research questions. The first concerns the relationship between personal goals and happiness across socio-economic groups in Peru. We know from psychology research that people who stress the importance of money, popularity and physical appearance (extrinsically oriented) over affiliation, community, self-acceptance and physical health (intrinsically oriented) are usually unhappier and engage less in pro-environmental behaviours. In Peru, we find as expected, that poor people are more extrinsically oriented than richer people, as they have experienced economic and personal insecurity since their early formative years. This increases the likelihood for poor people to be unhappier and to behave in an unsustainable manner. We also find that although being intrinsically oriented is good for happiness in general, this is not the case for people living in Huaycan, a slum outside Lima. Intrinsically oriented people living in Huaycan, since they experience precarious employment situations, lack of basic facilities, mistrust, competition for jobs and in many cases lack of family connections they cannot realise their intrinsic values and become unhappier than their extrinsically oriented counterparts. This result is parallel to the one found among prison inmates who value family, community and self-acceptance, they are also worse off since prisons are not a good environment for these goals to flourish. In summary, more attention should be put in improving the conditions in urban slums. They are not the poorest districts in Peru, but they have harsh structural conditions that frustrate people who hold the values that are good for themselves, for others around them and the environment. The second question addressed the possibility to work with extrinsically oriented people in order to improve their wellbeing and the ecological sustainability of their natural environment. This research has addressed the issue through a 10-moth participatory action-research (PAR) project based in a rural Andean community with relatively extrinsic members. Despite being extrinsically oriented, participants were used to cooperate in communal work so it was easy for them to get together and collaborate in the activities they decided to undertake. We used the Human Scale Development (HSD) methodology based on participatory workshops to support the community in the identification of sustainable development strategies. We followed them during 10 months as they implemented with the support of the post-doctoral fellow and two local assistants an organic vegetable gardens project and an adult's school that addressed topics the community was interested in. After the period of the PAR project participants declared to have experienced an increase in their wellbeing, measured through the satisfaction of their human needs, and to have a greater respect for the environment. This shows that through applying methodologies such as the HSD approach based on self-reliance, participation and cooperation, the negative effects of holding extrinsic values can be reversed and happiness and sustainability enhanced, even in contexts of poverty.

The aim of this project is to study both the factors that limit and the factors that promote sustainable consumption and wellbeing in Peru; the structures that lock-in urban middle and upper classes in unsustainable consumption patterns and the cultural a nd personal values that spread materialist aspirations among the poor. The project is groundbreaking in that addresses sustainable development in Latin America focusing on the consumption realm, where inequalities are sheer and policies are vague or inexi stent. The goal is to unveil the potential for different socio-economic groups, to pursue the actualization of human needs in a sustainable manner. The project will employ a case study approach, focusing on 3 neighborhoods in Lima (poor, middle and rich) , 2 in Huancayo and 2 rural communities in the Sierra central in order to reflect the understandings of different socio-economic groups. The method will involve a qualitative analysis of discussion groups with citizens using the Human Scale Development m ethodology developed by the Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef, followed by a questionnaire, inquiring on consumption patterns and materialism executed with a sample of 500 households living in both urban and rural settings. The analysis will make a uniq ue contribution to the study of sustainable development in Latin America where the unsustainable consumption practices of the upper and middle classes and their effect on the values, aspiration and wellbeing of the poor have often been mentioned but hardl y ever investigated. The participatory methodology employed, where not only limitations but potentialities for change will be addressed, will provide unique insights into the structural and identity related issues that people themselves identify as key fa ctors for a satisfying and sustainable life. Detailed policy implications identified by participants will follow from this research, providing a set of measures designed by and for the Peruvian people.