Opportunities and tensions in supporting intercultural productive activities: The case of urban and rural Mapuche entrepreneurship programs

Abstract

Over the last decade, entrepreneurship programs have proven to be an effective strategy to fight poverty in various contexts, but what happens when these programs are meant for Mapuche people? The purpose of this article was to analyze the cultural characteristics, opportunities, and associated challenges of entrepreneurship programs aimed at Mapuche people in rural and urban areas of Chile, based on the experiences and meanings of their beneficiaries. To fulfill this objective, a qualitative study was conducted, providing an in-depth examination of the experiences of 17 Mapuche people who have participated in entrepreneurship interventions in the Metropolitan and Bio Bio Regions, Chile. The article describes the initial conditions of the enterprises and the general contribution of the programs, the geographic and cultural characteristics associated with the development of their enterprises, the points of agreement and tensions between the business world and the Mapuche world, the aspects of the programs that reinforce Mapuche entrepreneurship, and the distinctive effects of entrepreneurship as implemented by Mapuche people. Points of agreement and challenges associated with interculturality in the field of entrepreneurship and social programs are discussed, as well as notions of culture, cultural identity, and recognition.

The right to dream: A cross‐sectional look at poverty alleviation programs

“…This stresses the importance of certain aspects. For instance, the affective bond with intervention agents emerges as a key element for the most vulnerable participants (such as homeless people) to access the benefits of technical support; in contrast, this bond may not be as relevant to people in a better situation who can dispense with it, such as women living in urban residential poverty (Daher, Jaramillo, Rosati 2018). Thus, programs may benefit from training intervention agents to be sensitive to multiple participant profiles, enabling them to respond differentially to their needs and cultural particularities (Llorens, 2006; Ximenes et al, 2015).…”

“…This article is part of the doctoral thesis 'Facing the challenge of integrating objective and subjective dimensions in social programs evaluation' from the main author. This thesis developed an Integral Evaluative Model (Daher et al, 2020) working with different social programs, which particular processes and results have been published in previous articles (Daher et al, 2021.…”

“…Some of these lines of intervention have been studied and evaluated. For instance, people who have participated in psychosocial support programs, cash transfers, and network articulation initiatives often become empowered, increase their income, and expand their access to health care and education (Galasso, 2011; Daher et al, 2018a, 2022). For their part, people who have joined entrepreneurship programs tend to formalize and expand their businesses (Daher et al, 2018b, 2021; Martínez et al, 2013).…”

“…For instance, people who have participated in psychosocial support programs, cash transfers, and network articulation initiatives often become empowered, increase their income, and expand their access to health care and education (Galasso, 2011; Daher et al, 2018a, 2022). For their part, people who have joined entrepreneurship programs tend to formalize and expand their businesses (Daher et al, 2018b, 2021; Martínez et al, 2013). Lastly, people who have taken part in microfinance programs improve their resource management and make more responsible financial decisions (Daher, Rosati & Campero, Guarda, et al, 2022; Trivelli & Yancari, 2008; Zapata et al, 2003).…”

Scientific Landscape Related to Mapuche Indigenous Peoples and Wallmapu Territory

“…Intercultural education, for example, has been an expression of the State used as a disciplinary device from early childhood in indigenous contexts around the world, and the Mapuche communities are no exception [114]. Similarly, the promotion of intercultural productive activities have introduced business dynamics foreign to Mapuche world [115], both generating opportunities for fighting poverty, but also creating challenges related to the collision of cultural values and Mapuche identity recognition.…”