Women’s participation in social learning processes for sustainability in the Quarta Colônia UNESCO Global Geopark

Abstract Social learning for sustainability occurs when various stakeholders collaborate to address a common sustainability challenge. This study examined social learning for the sustainability process in southern Brazil, involving a public higher education institution and a group of local women engaged in collaborative actions within the Quarta Colônia Geopark. The objective was to explore how do women participating in the "From Forest to Plate" course experience and interpret their participation in social learning processes for sustainability within the Quarta Colônia UNESCO Global Geopark? Employing an interpretive qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted according to Boje and Rosile’s narrative framework. The analysis revealed a narrative comprising three stages: the initial stage, characterized by the women’s lack of awareness of the forest’s potential; the current stage, marked by the women’s active engagement in efforts to valorize the forest; and the future stage, in which the women anticipate continued involvement. The study concludes that participation in social learning processes for sustainability fostered an emerging ontological reorientation, expressed through women's changing relationship with the Atlantic Forest and new ways of being-in-the-world. This research stands out for its theoretical contribution, revisiting underexplored ontological aspects in the literature that are critical to understanding social learning for sustainability.