Viva Bartkus , associate professor of management, and Wyatt Brooks , assistant professor of economics, at the University of Notre Dame , visited the department of Putumayo with the PASO Colombia team. These professors lead a research team that will conduct an evaluation of the new Alternative Rural School (ERA) that will be opened in Puerto Guzmán, and its impact on the lives of ex-combatants and community members who are in the process of substituting illicit crops. . They will begin by establishing a baseline before the start of ERA activities and will monitor its evolution for a year.
Professor Bartkus' main area of research is the impact of business in rebuilding war-torn societies. The investigative effort of your work team will yield results about the impact of the ERA model on the livelihood of the participants, their food, their perceptions of violence, and on the way in which the ERA transforms the social fabric of the community and the presence illicit crops in the territory. This information will be especially useful for the strategic decision-making processes of PASO Colombia, as well as for obtaining additional resources and allies to expand the model.
