Seasons of Hope: intergenerational ‘storylistening’ among demobilised guerrilla in Colombia

This account of peacebuilding workshops with demobilised guerrilla in Colombia emphasises the presence of hope in the peace process. The workshops were designed to facilitate ‘storylistening’ through intergenerational dialogue between former child soldiers and ex-combatants ranging from 14-86 years of age. The workshop activity was based on an animation entitled ‘The Tree of Love’ (el arbol del amor) made by the younger participants (aged 14-22), with its focus on the tree and the seasons. For the indigenous community in Jambaló, in the Cauca region, the tree is an important symbol of resistance and reconciliation: it has withstood 55 years of conflict and is a haven where hopes, dreams and secrets are shared. This article is presented as a narrative which collates the auto/biographical voices from the workshop as the participants consider key words in their understanding of conflict, mapping them to the seasons and testifying to the significance of hope in peacebuilding contexts.