Even as the La Violencia conflict still raged in some parts of Colombia, a small team of sociologists went to study the municipality of Chocontá, Cundinamarca in 1959. They focused on the small village of Saucío as a microcosm of a new community development program that held the promise of social repair (Fals Borda 1960). The now-famous early account of the “communal action” program starts with the parable about the construction of a new school for the community. Desperate for a better educational facility for their children, residents of the village first joined together to hold a bazaar (fair) to collect donations, but they got burned when local authorities squandered the funds. With little to show for their efforts, decaying cooperative traditions, and a mistrust of authorities, the village formed a junta (board) in a second attempt to complete the project.

A promoter (technical advisor) arrived to help break the community's inertia, and reach consensus on the need for the school. As a catalyst (Fals Borda 1960: 51), the promoter helped form the junta, broker with authorities, and train community leaders in organization, bookkeeping, and project management. But the promoter's stay was only temporary, since he was too costly to keep around for long (52). The decisions came from the people, with the junta taking the lead and dedicating the school when it was completed the next year. The Saucío junta next set its sights on electricity and road projects (33). An agricultural cooperative also sprang from the junta, including a store that provided credit and maintained the shared tractor and sewing machine (43).

The communal action in Saucío was credited with producing “a resurgence of collective energies that otherwise would have been left dormant” (Preface). In his description of an awakening, Fals Borda notes the junta helped form a collective identity and ethos – “a liberation of the traditional campesino.” With newfound pride and independence (60), the campesinos were no longer “submissive and unsophisticated.” Instead, when the farm boss would pass, “they would no longer take off their hats and salute with reverence and fear” and would “act with dignity, and demand and command.”