RE-DEFINING THE GOOD LIFE

      Across the Andes people are leaving their aspirations for the good life, defined as material gain and influence, choosing instead to live well, or Suma Qamana, a Quechua term which defines a concept where people live in harmony with their community, environment and work collectively to meet their needs.  Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador have all adopted the language of Suma Qamana into their national constitutions making it a law to protect the earth and community.  This is seen in Bolivia in the national banning of GMOs, big box stores and in the development of university degree programs in solidarity economy – a hybrid economic model that includes monetary and non-monetary transactions with a focus on justice and sustainability.  The result is a steady 5% annual growth rate (GDP) in the past three years. 

Suma Qamana has its roots in the Andean way of being which is based on the four points of the Cruz Andino, the constellation known in the Southern Cross.  There are four dynamics which guide actions and provide balance for daily living.  These are ushay, historical power, ancestors; yachay, knowing; munay, loving and ruray, doing.  The four points of the cross are guided by the belief that all share a common wisdom regardless of one’s formal education or socio-economic status and that time is a spiral through which one is constantly moving as thoughts and actions transform from the future to the present to the past.  There is no linear model with a beginning and end, all are in constant motion and transformation.

I presented Suma Qamana as a workshop at the recent Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro.  Participants were invited to map their projects on the four points of the Cruz Andino.  As participants began to think of their projects in the context of ancestors, love and power, a shift occurred.  Once disparate projects took on a new, deeply integrated nuance.  For example, a community garden gifting project in Montpelier took on new meaning as its ushay (power) rooted in shared wisdom from the past emerged as input from elders on gardening techniques; yachay (knowing) was experienced as community members sharing gardening wisdom with each other and opening their gardens to the each other; munay (love) took place in the gifting of garden harvests to anyone who wanted them; and ruray (doing) was the actual planting and tending of the gardens.  As in many of our robust Vermont communities, there are often several groups working on similar themes of resilience, community building and sustainability.  Mapping them together showed where there was room for partnering, balancing and places for collaboration.

Suma Qamana, developed by Andean scholars from within the modern capitalist model, does not outwardly appear radically different from our world today.  The difference, explains Catherine Walsh, Director at Ecuador’s Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar, is that instead of being guided by wisdom as Suma Qamana is, the capitalist model is guided by dominance.  Dominance can be understood as competition with a winner and loser in each type of wisdom experienced in the Andean model.  For example ushay in a dominance model can been seen as having power over one’s community, place or past.  The colonial era is an example of a collective ushay of dominance, as colonists took land and sovereignty from others.  Yahcay in a dominance model is the valuing of certain types of education over others.  An example is the higher regard given to someone with an advanced degree such as a doctor or lawyer than someone with a high school diploma. Munay in a dominance model is a quantitative love recognized by how many partners and friends one may have; the more Facebook likes on has the better they are.  Ruray in a dominance model is about wealth; those who earn more are seen as better than those who earn less.

In a wisdom based model, these differences exist but are not valued in the same way as the dominance interpretation.  One may have more friends, earn more or be better educated but they are seen as equal as a part of the community as someone without friends, a formal education or wealth.  In the Andean way of being, wealth of some is countered by the lack of it in others and makes for a diverse, balanced community.  For example a person who is good at earning money might not be good at gardening.  A person who is good at gardening might no be good at earning money.  Working together as a community, all needs are met; the wealthy person can pay gardening expenses and the knowledgeable person can provide technical skills.  The gardener is not being hired by the wealthy person per se, but rather by combining wealth and knowledge together, a collective need is met and a spirit of reciprocity, giving, receiving, and respect is built. 

What would our community and towns look like if we shared wisdom rather than competing or struggling alone to meet our needs?  Many organizations are already starting to do this.  For more about the Andean ways of being, Suma Qamana, and community building contact Tamara Stenn tstenn@keene.edu.  Dr. Tamara Stenn is a professor, scholar and trainer of sustainable development.

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