Nueva ruralidad: una estrategia para el mejoramiento y desarrollo del habitat rural del sector la Chaconia, vereda Honda Norte, municipio de Chinacota.

Abstract

The rural sector is one of the scenarios with great potential for the development of a territory; however, it presents an evident economic and social backwardness, putting at stake the quality of life of the rural population. On the other hand, the current rurality has taken on a transforming role in the ways of organization and the change in the functions of spaces, with new specialized uses (secondary and tertiary activities) and their diversification (residential, recreational and productive). This new rurality, where diverse forms of production, commercialization and consumption of agricultural and non-agricultural products potentially co-exist, is manifested in the rural settlement of La Chaconia in the municipality of Chinácota in the department of Norte de Santander. The need to approach this topic from the academic research, arises when recognizing the inequality gap and the marginality of this settlement in the last years, even being in the margin of a road axis that communicates with the metropolitan area of Cúcuta, situation that has dynamized the economic development of the municipality of Chinácota, for the provision of tourist services. This economic dynamics has progressively transformed the Honda Norte district located to the north of the municipality, since the presence of actors with interests in real estate development in the sector of the straight of Los Alamos, have occupied a good part of the productive zones with projects of country cabins, with high demand and occupation in weekends and vacation seasons; All this, in contrast to the inhabitants of the La Chaconia settlement, a smallholding rural area with primary activities (poultry, livestock and agriculture), secondary activities (industrial processing and extractive industry), tertiary activities (commerce), mostly led by the women of the settlement, who resist the urban transformation. The settlement, promoted by the proximity to coal mining 25 years ago, currently has more than 20 families with deficiencies in quality of life, deficiencies in housing, public services, access to education, health, with high rates of unsatisfied basic needs and with declared manifestations of exclusion and inequality. In accordance with the characteristics of the research object, priority was given to social, economic and environmental aspects, focused on rural habitat and sustainability. The methodological approach is directed towards an applied research, with a mixed approach, supported by autoethnography to cover some scenarios of interaction with the community, due to the social isolation caused by Covid-19. Among some of the results, it was possible to identify the strategies for the management of the actors, for the improvement of the quality of life, the social and economic inclusion of the population and those corresponding to the improvement of the rural space and landscape.