What does this research mean for the field?

Integrating artistic, spiritual, and dialogue-based practices into participatory research with Indigenous communities fosters the co-creation of knowledge and epistemic reciprocity, offering new pathways to reimagine sustainability and environmental justice. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.METHODOLOGICAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore how participatory methods involving artistic practices can enhance environmental justice efforts with Indigenous peoples.

July 29, 2026Journal of Participatory Research Methods0 citationsOpen Access

Participatory Research and Collaborative Arts: Pathways With the Mbya Guarani and Gunadule Peoples for Environmental Justice

LMLenín Alfonso MoralesUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande BCBruna Freire de Carvalho VAV. C. ALMEIDAHospital Universitário da Universidade de São Paulo

Key Points

This research aims to explore how participatory methods involving artistic practices can enhance environmental justice efforts with Indigenous peoples.
Utilized Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) frameworks.
Co-designed artistic methods, including culture circles, songs, storytelling, and sketch maps, adapted to local contexts.
Engaged with Mbya Guarani and Gunadule populations to develop methods that reflect their epistemologies.
Highlighted the effectiveness of arts-based methods in fostering intercultural collaboration and knowledge co-creation.
Demonstrated that Indigenous concepts, such as the water–energy–food nexus, can guide new sustainability practices.
Illustrated the potential of participatory methodologies to enhance food security and health from diverse worldviews.

Abstract

This article discusses two participatory research experiences developed with the Mbya Guarani (Brazil) and Gunadule (Panama) peoples. It examines how relationships and collaboration were built through social, artistic, and spiritual practices, highlighting their potential to strengthen intercultural and decolonial research. Anchored in Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), the paper focuses on the methodological journey: how artistic, oral, and collective techniques—such as culture circles, songs, storytelling, sketch maps, and shared walks—were co-designed and adapted to local epistemologies. It explores how these arts-based and community-centered methods can guide other participatory experiences in Indigenous and intercultural contexts. By integrating artistic expression, spirituality, and dialogue, the study shows how participatory methodologies foster the co-creation of knowledge, epistemic reciprocity, and creative collaboration. It also articulates how Indigenous epistemologies, through the water–energy–food nexus (Gunadule) and the notion of “true food” (Mbya Guarani), offer pathways to reimagine sustainability, health, and food security from plural worldviews.

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