Colombian Communities' Sustainable Development

My story of hopefulness is a community association composed of indigenous communities, black communities, and peasant communities along a new river in Colombia. They were impacted by the construction of a dam 20 years ago. At the beginning, they responded with strikes and anger, but eventually, they organized to restore their livelihoods.

They created an association of 96 community-based organizations, aiming to create a unique sustainable development model under agroecological principles, with a unique governance system. In each family or trait, they cultivate more than 80 food species, avoiding chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers.

They are able not only to have healthy diets but to support communities around them, including trading in their local stores. They also jointly decided to restore the river basin and planted diverse tree species to protect the mangrove forests with a joint action to stop these productions by large trim companies.

They ensure clean drinkable water in every household with solar energy and traditional water filters, solving a health problem. They use the earnings from the agricultural production into education and have been able to ensure that the young leaders of the community returned to the community.

This is a true regeneration model to restore ecosystems and societies.