| Abstract: This research project analyzes how community care practices linked to education through the Community Diving Center Embajadores y Embajadoras del Mar (CCBEEM) relate to the strengthening of the social fabric and the participation and inclusion of youth in Cahuita, Costa Rica's Southern Caribbean,
within a context of social, economic, and cultural inequalities during 2022–2026. From a critical-social paradigm, a decolonial feminist epistemology, and a situated knowledge approach, the study adopts a qualitative, participatory case-study design. The study population consists of youth from Cahuita linked to CCBEEM, mainly aged 18–29, with community leaders, education-related actors, organizations, cultural managers, caregivers, and institutions participating as complementary sources. Data will be produced through documentary review, participant observation, interviews, focus groups, participatory social mapping, Photovoice, and a community feedback workshop. The project seeks to generate situated knowledge on community care, make local knowledge visible, and provide inputs for strengthening youth participation and public policies from territorial and intercultural perspectives. |