The term patrimony has two distinct meanings: i)Cultural: “Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations” (Unesco, 2017); ii)Legal-economic: “value of the assets... [ view full abstract ]
The term patrimony has two distinct meanings: i)Cultural: “Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations” (Unesco, 2017); ii)Legal-economic: “value of the assets that a person or business has, after any debts are taken away” (Cambridge dictionary, 2017). However, the two definitions can converge in their synonyms: inheritance (when it is used after death or bankruptcy), heritage, legacy.
Heritage has been seen as an obstacle to development. However, recent discussion about the disruptions that development can have and about alternatives pose strategies that coincide with the concept of heritage: i)to place value on cultural traditions to reduce dependence on expert knowledge and a greater attention to the efforts of common people to construct more humane culturally and economically sustainable worlds; ii)to multiply production centers and agents of knowledge, making forms of knowledge that are produced by the beneficiaries of development visible, thereby helping them to become subjects and agents of development; iii)Counterwork: adaptations, subversions and resistance carried out locally in reaction to development interventions (Arturo Escobar, 2005). Put another way, people converting heritage into net worth for the good of humanity.
The goal of this work is to show Colombian cases in which the application of heritage is scalable and viable. With minor legal adjustments, and within an ecosystem of State-academia-entrepreneurs, the model promotes the status of sustainable development practices, leading to a new way of conceiving progress.
Each case consists of describing traditional practices, actors, materials, products and market conditions. This is followed by an analysis of i)legal advances fostered by Colombian ministries including Culture and Education, ii)research applied to other cases and to entrepreneurship in the University of los Andes and others. The following cases are described.
- Construction practices in housing in the Pacific Region i)significant decrease of overhead costs caused by heat and humidity, ii)materials (wood, bamboo, soil and fibers) produced sustainably in the region; iii)advances in research in the sustainable production of existing materials that can be cultivated in the region; iv)Legal Framework: Ministry of Culture, changes in the norms regarding earthquake resistant structures that include local sustainably produced materials and traditional practices and the concept of “cultural interest housing” as opposed to low-income housing or public housing.
- Traditional midwives and the decline in infant mortality/morbidity from access barriers in the formal healthcare system Legal Framework: Tertiary education as an alternative to reduce access barriers to the health system.
- Gastronomy and contamination: Alternatives to plastic packaging in culinary traditions: use of natural materials such as banana leaves and gourdes, wooden utensils to serve and preserve traditional foods, including tamales, sweets, wraps. Legal Framework: health regulations imposed by Invima, the National Institute for the Regulation of Health and Safety.
- Traditionally produced wooden boats using local materials: Legal Framework: Cost reduction in harbor fees compared to boats constructed with conventional materials.
The cases will establish different factors that make heritage preservation viable in terms of net worth in sustainable development.
