CENTRE for LATIN AMERICAN
RESEARCH and DOCUMENTATION

The co-creation workshop in La Carpio followed a three-day structure, adapted to the specific dynamics and priorities of the neighborhood. The workshop brought together the local advisory board, neighborhood leaders, photovoice participants, invited Costa Rican academics, representatives of the municipal waste company, and residents from different sectors.

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The first day opened with a session dedicated to the two case study neighborhoods in this research project. Community leader Cielo Holguín from Moravia, Medellín, and long-standing leader Alicia Avilés from La Carpio, San José, introduced the histories, challenges, and community dynamics of their respective neighborhoods. Their exchange offered a comparative perspective that helped to identify shared concerns and points of divergence between the two sites. After this conversation, the advisory board members and invited academics conducted a walk through La Carpio, focusing on infrastructural and environmental challenges, recent improvements, and the everyday routes that structure life in the neighborhood. The day provided a shared foundation for the participatory work that followed.

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The second day centered on a participatory mapping exercise using the HOT ChatMaps methodology. Instead of working on paper, residents contributed photographs and messages through WhatsApp groups, documenting accumulated waste, recycling points and clean-up initiatives. Around fifty residents participated, together with members of the advisory board. In the afternoon, all participants gathered for a reflection session on the mapping results and the use of the ChatMaps tool. Representatives of the waste management company that services La Carpio also took part. The session created an open and constructive space of dialogue in which residents, leaders, and institutional actors discussed observations, exchanged perspectives, and identified shared priorities for the neighborhood.

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On the third day, the workshop team reconvened for internal reflection exercises based on the work and conversations of the previous days. These discussions helped to consolidate insights and outline possible avenues for continued collaboration between participants from different organisations and places. In the late afternoon, the group inaugurated the local photovoice exhibition, presenting the work created by newcomer migrants from Isabelle Mollinger’s photovoice project. Participants were invited to introduce their photographs, share their stories, and engage with the advisory board and academic collaborators. The opening celebrated their contributions and marked the closing of the workshop.

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Taken together, the three workshop days provided a structured platform for collaboration between residents, leaders, and institutional partners, resulting in a collectively produced mapping of environmental concerns and, hopefully, a strengthened foundation for ongoing participatory work in La Carpio.