Paper short abstract:

Rural grassroots organisations strive to steer local and sectorial realms towards sustainability. I discuss their strategies, addressing knowledge flows. Knowledge sustainability appears a plausible way to address overlapping fields and linkages of practice, boundaries and institutions.

Paper long abstract:

Few works describe how—and to what extent—rural grassroots organisations strive to steer local and sectorial realms in the pursuit of sustainable visions of rural life. This paper discusses rural grassroots organisations' strategies as change agents, specifically addressing knowledge flows taking place on their endeavour.

The paper reports on results of an abductive research. Its empirical base draws on a multi-sited case research, built in collaboration with forty-four Colombian smallholder cocoa producer's organizations. Data relates to historical and current accounts of organisations' meso-level relations.

The theoretical approach I have used recurs to a knowledge-repertoire perspective, following stances of intertwinement amongst practice, boundaries and institutions. This approach used capacity development policy as a starting point, as a knowledge reference. This policy tool was unpacked and then its rationale used to build a theoretical approach addressing meso-level agency. A STS approach, plus institutional work, innovation intermediation and sociology of practice streams lay scholar foundations for the exercise.

My research results point to the various overlapping fields that organisations deal with to stabilise a field of practice in an institutional volatile context: markets, grassroot identity, rural development, productive sector affairs and local public affairs. These fields' various knowledge contents and knowledge-based processes emerging simultaneously.

Rural grassroots organisations aim to set community-directed practices; to define, keep and bridge boundaries; and to build self-governing institutions. These processes bring to the surface knowledge sustainability as a complex phenomenon worth exploring, as a means to better address and understand complementary realms to overarching change towards sustainability.