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Sentipensar the Micro-Territory: Heutagogical Innovation for the Sophistication of Rural Microbusinesses in Villa Restrepo, Ibagué
This systematization dismantles the technical paralysis that suffocates the Agroecotourism Association of Villa Restrepo. Far from being a deficiency in the quality of its products, the low glocal competitiveness of this micro-territory emerges from profound digital invisibility and a lack of cost engineering. Our field observations identified a“subsistence logic” in which 90% of the members set prices based merely on intuition or by mimicking competitors. This places rural entrepreneurs in a condition of structural exclusion from the network society, limiting their capacity to capture value in external markets.
The methodology challenges traditional assistentialism by integrating Fals Borda’s“sentipensante” sociology with the diagnostic architecture of the SISSU Route. Here, the 25 members cease to be objects of analysis and assume the role of epistemic subjects under the paradigm of heutagogy, or self-determined learning. We argue that administrative knowledge is only validated when it emerges from the real survival needs of the community. Through the situated use of the Ishikawa Diagram and the Logical Framework Matrix, technical challenges aligned with the Economy for Life were prioritized.
The findings of this diagnostic phase compel a rethinking of rural autonomy: technical support enabled 100% of participants to successfully identify their fixed and variable costs. This cognitive transition raises the project’s maturity to a TRL 6 level, validating financial management prototypes and digital assets within the relevant environment of the corregimiento. A strategic roadmap emerges, aiming to mitigate the risk of youth migration through organizational sophistication. Ultimately, the Territorial CIPAS operates as a laboratory of economic sovereignty for sustainable development.
