Natural disasters and territoriality: the case of the lafkenche de Saavedra

Natural disasters are very common in our country. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and floods are phenomena that happens quite frequently, often altering the way local groups interact with nature. This because they are able to modify cultural, social and economic practices reorienting the future of a specific territory, as happened in Saavedra with the 9.5 degrees earthquake and subsequent tsunami of 1960. From a political ecology of disasters; and through focus groups, semi-structured interviews and participatory mappings; this article analyses the way local authorities with competence in disasters have recognized the relevance of the lafkenche's territoriality, generating an intercultural dialogue between actors that have diff erent epistemologies and ontologies about disasters