Along the Road of Decolonization Shared Priorities in Development Justice

Abstract

Decolonizing development is necessary to address the colonial legacies that contribute to injustices faced by Guatemala’s Indigenous populations. Through collaborative reflection, staff members from two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) share a case study of their ongoing processes of decolonization through 17+ years of shared relief and development work among Indigenous Tz’utujil communities in Guatemala. The authors argue that implementation of a localization model has fostered an environment of mutuality and learning in which decolonization processes could take place, effectively addressing and continuing to address colonial legacies within each organization and between these two institutions. Grounded in the practical experiences of an international NGO from the Global North and a locally rooted NGO from the Global South, this article contributes to the ongoing discussions on decolonizing development.