ABSTRACT
The connection to the land of Cotacachenos – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – manifests in a worldview based on Buen Vivir and in the ensuing local politics, which strives to enable a life in harmony with nature. In this chapter, the author garners grassroots understanding of Buen Vivir and its core principles, as well as evidence of what this looks like in practice, and how it fits into the discussion of “needs.” Inherent in Buen Vivir is the emphasis on community and endogenous-led change. The vague notion of what Buen Vivir entails both in policy and the literature partly arises because of its complexity, and partly because of its contested nature. The idea of community in Buen Vivir is the turning point from an individualistic notion of neoliberal development to the idea of seeking holistic communal wellbeing and sustainability.
