Repercussions of the water advocacy on the collective well-being of MODATIMA Santiago: ethnographic approaches from a decolonial ecofeminist perspective of collective occupations

Abstract

Introduction The article discusses the relationship between ecology and human occupations from occupational therapy and occupational science, recognizing the role played by organizations defending the human right to water in the socio-environmental advocacy. Objective Analyzing the motivations and repercussions of the water advocacy on the personal health and well-being of the MODATIMA Santiago, Chile, collectivity, as well as characterize their collective actions and strategies in the face of the water conflict from a decolonial ecofeminist perspective, and collective occupations. Method Qualitative, critical, and feminist research, of exploratory type, which included two group interviews and a process of participant observation of the group's activities in Santiago de Chile, during the year 2022. Results The MODATIMA Santiago socio-environmental advocacy collectivity has various motivations to organize, for which they have created public, educational, institutional, and organizational action strategies to face the current and future repercussions of the water crisis on their territories, which has had a negative impact on their health and well-being. Conclusions The socio-environmental advocacy can be understood as a collective occupation articulated toward the demand for human rights, stressing the anthropocentric and individualist understandings of human occupation.