Many community development projects, lack sustainability over time due to the little or no integration of the community in the processes, from diagnosis to implementation. Therefore, using inclusive and cooperative tools could favor these deficiencies, to propose in this case, sustainable livestock production systems.
Participatory cartography (CP) as a community action-research (CAR) tool is a playful, active process of creation and recreation. This reflects the needs, perceptions, and interests of a group of people in different scenarios. And from a collective construction, it allows studying the territory from the diagnosis and identification of the problems to the community development projections. The CP was applied to ranchers from Azuay (southern Ecuador), in four phases from design to closure. The analysis of data collected in the workshop was done both to the descriptions and cartographic maps, as well as to the comments and individual presentations made by the participating groups.
Specifically, the results obtained are descriptive and interpretive in nature, and show the collective needs in the study area. They also show the perception of ranchers regarding the change to sustainable production systems (SPS) as favorable to be implemented. This tool is coupled to various fields of study, achieving greater contribution, and reducing inequalities between participants. However, its use is low or the results obtained from its application are not disclosed, so encouraging the use and dissemination of this type of tools can contribute to the true sustainability of the changes proposed to the communities.
Participatory mapping is a fundamental CAR tool for community empowerment, very useful for making internal and external decisions. While in the implementation of SPS, livestock farmers are aware of the positive environmental impacts of these systems, but it is not a determining factor when making decisions as would be the policies and incentives for their implementation.