Reflections on Collective Healing at the Community of El Juego

Abstract

El Juego is a multicultural community of 30 people that exists as a permanent laboratory of conflict resolution and healing. Two and a half years ago, during the pandemic and after four years of living as nomads, we bought together one hundred and forty hectares in San Rafael, Antioquia, to live in close connection with nature and promote reforestation by creating a natural reserve. In this article, we share some of our reflections and experiences of collective healing. We do so through an exercise in autoethnography carried out by two members of our community following the death of Camelia, one of our horses. We then pull out themes that appeared in the autoethnographic pieces, sharing our reflections on developing a more intimate relationship with nature. In the discussion, we draw on the literature on anarchism and Indigenous ways of knowing and enrich it with the lived experience of the community.