FACULTY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY | Dissertation defence
Dissertation defence – Juliana Restrepo Giraldo

This work invites a re-examination of conceptions of home, design, and sustainability, emphasizing the interconnected relationships between the body, place, and Earth, and seeking to inspire relational approaches to design and homemaking. Its key contribution lies in the practice of relationality, informed by the Andean cosmology of Buen Vivir, and exploring diverse, situated opportunities for its understanding and application at home. This perspective offers valuable insights for design researchers seeking to decolonize their processes and practices while engaging with Indigenous wisdom. While this work primarily focuses on Buen Vivir, it underscores the importance of recognizing and valuing Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and relating to the world.

Buen Vivir embodies the idea of living in harmony with all beings and nature through principles such as relationality, complementarity and reciprocity. Rooted in the cosmovision (worldview) of Indigenous communities in the Andean territories of South America, it positions humans as stewards rather than owners of the living territory and the Earth (Gudynas, 2011). Buen Vivir encompasses diverse ways of being, relating, and knowing the world, all practiced in deep connection to territories and their species. Through its principles and diverse adaptations, it offers alternative narratives, practices, and imaginaries that can shift priorities and help redefine approaches to design and homemaking. Influenced by decolonial and feminist perspectives, this PhD research advocates for relational, intuitive, and care-fullparticipatory design practices to address socioecological challenges.

Drawing on the experiences of homemakers in various locations, particularly in Växjö, Sweden, and Medellín, Colombia, the research illustrates how relationality is already practiced or can be meaningfully integrated into everyday home life, extending its relevance beyond the Andes. The research positions the scale of everyday home life as an inspirational starting point for fostering relational and sustainable change, offering valuable insights for design researchers in participatory and decolonial design, aiming to contribute to planetary health while transforming their own practices. This work reimagines the programmatic research approach by emphasizing the relationship with one’s body and recognizing diverse ways of knowing. Additionally, it proposes a series of companion practices as practical methods for engaging in relationality with the body, within places, and for the Earth.