Participatory co-production dialogue circle for grant development on the climate–nature–indigenous peoples nexus

This project aims to create a relational space for community members and researchers to share knowledge, listen deeply, and co-develop ideas guided by indigenous ways of knowing and collective decision-making in the development of impactful projects. A participatory co-production dialogue circle, grounded in indigenous methodologies, is a vital element in enabling prior informed consent from indigenous communities.

This collaboration is in between the University of Leeds, who have expertise in the decolonising methodologies/climate education and curriculum and with the local partners in Brazil and Uganda, from the Fundação Getulio Vargas, São Paulo, Brazil and the Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. We aim to undertake a series of dialogue circles with the indigenous communities in Brazil and Uganda to understand the climate- and nature-related issues they face, as they have long been marginalised. The outcome of the dialogues is to shape an impactful project on climate resilience that works “with” rather than “on” indigenous communities, fostering an equitable partnership.

In Brazil, Indigenous communities in the Fonte Boa region of the Amazon, particularly the Tikuna (Ticuna), Kokama (Cocama), and Kambeba (Omagua) peoples, maintain close relationships with the várzea floodplain ecosystems that shape their livelihoods and cultural practices. Living alongside seasonally flooded forests and lakes, they draw on traditional ecological knowledge to understand water cycles, fish behaviour, and environmental change. Community-led safeguarding of lakes and fisheries reflects a strong climate–nature–Indigenous peoples nexus, where ecological stewardship supports cultural continuity, food security, and intergenerational knowledge transmission.

In Uganda, the indigenous Batwa communities are commonly known as the “forest people” due to their long-standing relationship with the tropical rainforests. They traditionally lived in and around the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, relying on deep traditional ecological knowledge passed down through generations. In the early 1990s, the Batwa were forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands, and the current state of their relationship with nature and climate remains unclear. The project therefore aims to scope the impacts of this displacement on the Batwa and to explore the current state of the climate–nature–indigenous peoples nexus in relation to the Batwa.

The project aims to work closely with the indigenous communities in Brazil and Uganda from the outset through this proposed collaboration, co-producing an impactful project that recognises and values the voices of the indigenous communities. We plan to conduct dialogue circles in several indigenous villages in Brazil and Uganda, using participatory, anthropological, and indigenous methodologies that respect and honour indigenous ways of knowing.

The dialogue circle will use a combination of audio-recorded walk-and-talk conversations, detailed field notes, and participant observation. Story sharing and narrative documentation will be central, reflecting indigenous ways of knowing, alongside visual methods such as community mapping to inform the future impactful project. Collective note-taking will support co-owned knowledge production, supplemented by short follow-up conversations where needed.

This collaboration project is vital and would not be possible without the seed grant, as it centres on working with indigenous communities in ways that honour equitable partnership. We recognise the voices and ways of knowing of the indigenous communities from the very beginning, understanding these as foundational to exploring the climate–nature–people relationship. Through this relational approach, the project creates space for shared decision-making and co-created pathways that support the revitalisation of traditional ecological knowledge.

Project website

https://voicesoftherainforest.leeds.ac.uk