Conexión ser humano-naturaleza: Una experiencia educativa alternativa en la “Fábrica de sueños”, Manizales, Colombia

Aim. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of alternative education in the La Fábrica de Sueños (Dream Factory) project. The project aimed at the reforestation of consciousness and the cultural transformation in seven-year-old children from educational institutions for the care of nature and coexistence. Methodology. The methodology focuses on the systematization of an experience that parents, teaching staff, and children lived. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, stories, and drawings; it was analyzed with the Atlas ti program based on qualitative research and categorical analysis. Coincidences, relationships, and correlations were established through the central category of reforestation of awareness and the following five axial categories: personal empowerment, human being, self-awareness, coexistence, and relationship with nature. These five categories emerged from experiences and educational commitments, focused on ethics and pedagogy. Results. It was found that the applied experiential approach, especially the contact with nature and art, sensitizes toward new learning from the stimulation of creativity and imagination that are motors for children’s free expression and narration. The Dream Factory project contributes to comprehensive training and leads to the children’s awakening in coexistence with their social and natural environment. The experience strengthens the development of creative, critical, and reflective thinking that starts from the empowerment and understanding of children’s vital space. Objetivo. Analizar las percepciones sobre la educación alternativa en el proyecto La Fábrica de Sueños - FS, orientada a la reforestación de la conciencia, y a la transformación cultural en niños y niñas de siete años de instituciones educativas para el cuidado de la naturaleza y la convivencia. Metodología. La metodología se centra en la sistematización de la experiencia vivida, recolectada mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas, relatos y dibujos, de padres y madres de familia, personal docente, niños y niñas. El análisis se hizo con el programa Atlas ti, a partir de la investigación cualitativa y análisis categorial. Se establecieron coincidencias, relaciones y correlatos a través de una categoría central, la reforestación de conciencia, y cinco categorías axiales: empoderamiento personal, ser humano, conciencia de sí, convivencia y relación con la naturaleza, que emergieron de las experiencias y de las apuestas educativas