Climate change from the neighbourhood: FUNVIMUFROIN’s community climate school in Cali, Colombia

Overview

This article analyses the experiences of the Women Leaders in an Action Climate School, developed by the community organisation FUNVIMUFROIN in Cali, Colombia, as a case of community climate action in an urban context marked by acute socio-environmental inequality. As a case study, the research describes and analyses the origin, organisational structure, pedagogical approach, and main results of the initiative. The results show that the School emerged in response to specific local issues, particularly the inadequate management of solid waste, and has established itself as a training space based on critical environmental education and community participation. Through training modules that integrate reflection and action, the initiative promotes the development of local leadership, strengthens social cohesion, and generates tangible environmental impacts, such as the recovery of public spaces and improvements in waste management practices. Furthermore, the study identifies challenges and opportunities related to the lack of funding and structural conditions of inequality in the targeted areas. In dialogue with the approaches of community-led development, climate justice, and environmental pedagogy, the article argues that this experience constitutes a relevant example of bottom-up climate governance. It concludes that community initiatives can play a key role in building more inclusive, locally grounded, and sustainable responses to the climate crisis.