Box 3. Sumak Kawsay: An alternative view of development The concept of sumak kawsay is rooted in the worldview of the Quechua peoples of the Andes in Ecuador. Referred to as ‘buen vivir’ in Spanish, the concept of sumak kawsay translates loosely in English as ‘good living’ or ‘well living’. It connotes a harmonious collective development that conceives of the individual within the context of the social and cultural communities and his or her natural environment. Rooted in the indigenous belief system of the Quechua, the concept incorporates western critiques of dominant development models to offer an alternative paradigm based on harmony between human beings, as well as between human beings and their natural environments. The concept has inspired the recent revision of the Constitution of Ecuador which refers to a ‘new form of public co-existence, in diversity and in harmony with nature, to achieve the good way of living, the sumak kawsay’. The Constitution is based on the recognition of the ‘right of the population to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment that guarantees sustainability and the good way of living (sumak kawsay)’. The Constitution further specifies that the following shall be a responsibility of the State: ‘To promote the generation and production of knowledge, to foster scientific and technological research, and to upgrade ancestral wisdom to thus contribute to the achievement of the good way of living (sumak kawsay).’48