PhotoKwento: co‐constructing women's narratives of disaster recovery

Abstract

A recent appraisal of disaster studies undertaken over the past 40 years draws attention to the urgency of advancing different epistemologies that reflect local realities of disaster experiences and of developing appropriate instruments with which to do so. This paper argues that feminist methods and perspectives can contribute greatly to this important endeavour of promoting epistemic diversity in research on disasters, advancing approaches that engender the co-construction of knowledge, and consequently challenging the 'hegemonic' (and often gender-blind) narratives that dominate disaster studies today. Specifically, the paper makes a case for a feminist photobased approach that I designed (PhotoKwento) to examine women's experiences of disaster recovery in Tacloban City, Philippines. It demonstrates how the technique fosters engaged research relationships and participatory knowledge construction practices pertaining to disaster experiences. In addition, it highlights the potential of PhotoKwento to embody the qualities of research that are necessary for the progress of disaster studies 'from below'.

Building Resilience in Qualitative Research: Challenges and Opportunities in Times of Crisis

“…In designing research resilience (in method and practice) and developing a more grounded, ethical, and flexible qualitative approach, I became concerned regarding the importance of considering two critical recurring methodological problems in the process of co-constructing knowledge with the indigenous communities, namely: [1] power imbalances in ‘researcher-researched’ relationships ( Alburo-Cañete, 2020 ; Fustukian & Zwi, 2008 ; Gaillard & Peek, 2019 ; Hugman et al, 2011 ) and [2] the ability, flexibility, and adaptability of the qualitative research instruments and platform to produce knowledge ‘from below’ and ‘from the South’ during a crisis ( Rahman et al, 2021 ; Alburo-Cañete, 2020 ).…”

“…In the context of environmental sociology, attention has been given to research instruments and platform effectiveness in capturing the experiences and relationships of the communities with their surroundings and environment where they ‘live and play’ during the research. More specifically, Alburo-Cañete (2020) points out how word-based instruments in qualitative research methods can be utilised in obtaining information based on narrative storytelling among the participants. This issue is also closely associated with the ability of qualitative research instruments and platforms to capture the participants’ emotions (on the phenomenon of being studied and the research activities) during the research that seems to be often overlooked in the research on marginalised indigenous communities ( Grove, 2014 ; Lund, 2012 ).…”

“…Integrating knowledge produced by the culture or common sense of subaltern masses (the indigenous communities) in knowledge production requires more than just a researcher fully equipped with an ‘ethical toolkit’. The researcher needs to address the unequal share of power within the ‘researcher-researched’ relationship through critical reflection on their positionality, roles, and responsibilities during the knowledge production processes and to whom the knowledge is produced ( Alburo-Cañete, 2020 ).…”

Disaster conversations: intersecting perspectives on cross-cultural disaster research

“…Images give concrete reference points, while allowing open expression as participants take the role of an expert guide, leading the researcher through the content (Collier and Collier, 1986). Photo elicitation methods have been used effectively to (1) deepen understanding of socio-cultural phenomena, (2) reveal perspectives of marginalised groups and (3) amplify voices for advocacy (Alburo-Cañete, 2020).…”

Building back better? Rethinking gender and recovery in the time of COVID-19

“…To do so, I draw on insights from previous research on women’s experiences of post-disaster reconstruction in the Philippines after typhoon Haiyan (Alburo-Cañete, 2021a, 2021b) and highlight opportunities and challenges in achieving the transformation desired in attempts to rebuild from the pandemic, focussing on the notion of care.…”