Will it be different if I give it another name? methodologic notes from research with riverside communities in the amazon forest (Brazil and Ecuador)

What makes a piece of research decolonial? Do participatory or co-creative approaches make research participatory and co-creative? These reflections are raised in this article, which looks back at methodological choices made and adapted during a three-year study with riverside communities in the Amazon Forest, in Ecuador and Brazil. Originally designed as grounded research, the project was seriously impacted by restrictions imposed by the global Covid-19pandemic and, in addition in the Brazilian case, by political issues arising during the 2022 national presidential elections. This article discusses how these unexpected limitations influenced the field-work approach and the resulting answers will be presented as a pedagogy of listening, inspired by the work of Paulo Freire. The recognition and experience of limitations triggered a reflection about disruptive theoretical frameworks and methods. Instead of advocating one precise method, this article advances the relevance of a trans-methodological approach that allows the emergence of new –and/or disruptive – knowledge.