
In this episode of the Collaboratory Conversation Series, Kaira Zoe Cañete shares reflections from her recent PhD research in the Philippines, and offers some practical advice on what it takes to co-create research that gives back to its participants rather than just extracting knowledge.
In this edited conversation with Kaira, we explore:
- How Kaira’s background influenced the approach she took to her research
- The development and use of her photo-based research tool with women in urban communities in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan
- How she approached and engaged with women as co-creative research participants
- The complexities of sharing power and control in a research project
- The importance of self-reflection and awareness as a researcher
- The value of co-creative research for participants
While Kaira’s story focuses on academic research, the experiences and insights she shares are relevant for anyone wanting to engage authentically with community members to co-create something together.
Transcript
To ensure accessibility we are committed to providing transcripts of all our podcast episodes – you can read the full transcript here.
Resources
Alburo‐Cañete, Kaira Zoe. “PhotoKwento: co‐constructing women’s narratives of disaster recovery.” Disasters 45, no. 4 (2021): 887-912. – Behind a pay wall
Guests

Kaira Zoe Cañete is a Filipino feminist scholar with training in Anthropology and Critical Development Studies. She specialises in gender, disasters, and development. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow for the Humanitarian Governance Project at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Her research interests include expanding/rethinking notions of disaster resilience, sustainability by centering perspectives of marginalised groups (the ‘vulnerable’) and advancing feminist ethics of care in disaster response and governance.
You can find Kaira online at Institute For Global Development UNSW Sydney website, LinkedIn, Research Gate
Get in touch
Email – collaboratorypodcast@gmail.com
Facebook – Collaboratory Podcast | Scaffolding Cultural CoCreativity
LinkedIn – Collaboratory Podcast
Instagram – @collaboratorypodcast
Collaboratory is written, edited and produced by Maya Haviland with production and editorial assistance from Nicole Deen. Audio engineering by Nick McCorriston. Music made especially for us by Seprock. Additional research and production support by Nicole O’Dowd.
Collaboratory is produced on the lands of the Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Ngambri people.We pay our respects, an ongoing gratitude to the custodian’s past present and future of the lands on which we work and of the knowledges from which we learn.
Collaboratory is a production of the Scaffolding Cultural Co-creativity Project hosted by the Center for Heritage and Museum Studies in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the Australian National University funding is generously provided by the Australian National University Translational Fellowship Scheme.