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13-15 JUNE

PEACE WITH NATURE

PEASING COMMUNITIES AND PEACE SIGNERS DEFENDING TERRITORIAL RIGHTS AND BUILDING COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE
Héctor Ramírez population center of Vereda Aguabonita II, Municipality of La Montañita, Department of Caquetá.
Agrarian reform; transformation of agri-food systems; climate justice, energy transition and extractivism.
Difficulty: 3/5.
Languages: Spanish, English and French.

BACKGROUND

After more than 50 years of internal armed conflict, Colombian society promoted dialogue between the Colombian State and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), leading to the signing in 2016 of the Final Peace Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Lasting Peace (AFP). This treaty, supported by the international community, proposes a route for collective action to address the structural problems that caused the political, social, environmental, economic, cultural and armed conflict.

Among its main points is addressing the problem of land in Colombia regarding its use, ownership and distribution, framed within the Comprehensive Rural Reform as a fundamental step towards Agrarian Reform. Along with this, it proposes the deepening of democracy through political opening and a process of national reconciliation that put the victims of the conflict at the center of this peace agreement, focusing on restorative justice, collective reparation and guarantees of non-repetition for the victims.

Point three of the Agreement focuses on attention to combatants in their transition and mobilization towards the legality denied by the confrontation with the Colombian State. Initially, Transitional Normalization Village Zones (ZVTN) were built as spaces for the grouping and collective peace-building process of the signatories of the Peace Agreement. These zones later became Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR) in order to advance the comprehensive route of reincorporation, which obliges the Colombian State to guarantee the effective enjoyment of economic, political, social and cultural rights as agreed.

The Héctor Ramírez population center, located in the Aguabonita II Village, La Montañita Municipality, Caquetá Department. This Population Center was one of the first twenty-four (24) Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR), where peace signatories in coordination with rural and urban communities, together with their peasant, communal, indigenous, youth, women etc.

The Association of Women Producers of Essences of Peace – ASMUPROPAZ, a group of peasant and indigenous women, promoted the comprehensive implementation of the AFP through the development of dialogue, pedagogy and reconciliation processes; together with socio-productive projects in the interest of the collective construction of a culture of and for peace towards Good Living in the territory.

In the dynamic generated by the implementation of the AFP in the municipality of La Montañita, the Association of Women Producers of Essences of Peace – ASMUPROPAZ, emerged as a collective space to promote the construction of alternative bets for production and cultural action for Peace and to promote social and environmental reconciliation in the territory. ASMUPROPAZ works for gender equality, the defense of human rights and sustainability, promoting comprehensive initiatives that strengthen the social fabric and promote the care of ecosystems.

Among its collective bets is the Project “The Route of Reconciliation to the Páramo” which reflects in its dynamics the commitment to territorial transformation, integrating peasant communities in sustainable development processes that harmonize with the protection of biodiversity. There is also a restoration program worked with the community, which promotes regenerative livestock actions, adaptive plans in communal farms and biological corridors. For its part, through the project “Essences of the Amazon for Peace” women signatories of the Peace Agreement together with women from local communities of La Montañita, promote the sustainable production and transformation of aromatic and medicinal plants into bio-cosmetic products.

The visit will allow to know and make visible the collective proposal of ASMUPROPAZ and ten other local processes for the construction of cultures of Peace, social and environmental reconciliation, defense of the territory, reconstruction of the social fabric and the harmonious relationship with nature and the effective enjoyment of the rights of the peasantry and nature.

TRAVEL AND LOGISTICS

Participants will travel by plane from Bogotá to Florencia, the capital of the Caquetá department; the flight takes one hour. From Florencia to La Montañita it takes just over an hour by bus. From there, various nearby experiences will be visited, some on foot (15-30 minutes) and others by bus (30 minutes).

Initially, the idea is to use TURIPAZ, a community and nature tourism company created after the Peace Accords, to offer lodging. Participants will sleep between ecological cabins, private homes and community dormitories. These have water, electricity and internet services. However, the option of using a hotel in Florencia with daily transfers will be evaluated. Participants will be informed in time.

The food is local food provided by TURIPAZ and based on rice, vegetables, tubers and meats (beef, pork, chicken, fish). There is a variety of local fruits and options for vegetarians or vegans.

YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT

  • Community Reconciliation processes that promote social, environmental and community reconciliation in the Caquetá territory, and are based on the exchange of experiences and knowledge between communities.
  • The role of women and the gender approach in the process of building territories of peace.
  • Processes of developing technical and organizational capacities of communities as agents of change, including the training of peasant promoters.
  • Community restoration practices, which include the reconversion and reduction of the agricultural and livestock frontier, and the use of landscape management tools and adaptive property plans to strengthen environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
  • Environmental management and conservation by becoming familiar with Community Environmental Monitoring and reflecting with the community on the importance of territorial identity and the defense of nature and life.

WHAT TO BRING

The climate is variable, generally warm and humid, with high rainfall and relative humidity. Bring light clothing that covers your arms and neck, wear hats to protect against the sun, and insect repellent (you can also buy it on site). In June, the rains decrease in intensity and alternate or accompany very sunny days. Those who wish can bring rubber boots or buy them on site.

PARTICIPANTS

  • will learn about the Peace Agreement and its relationship to the land problem in Colombia.
  • will participate in reciprocal learning sessions around experiences of land governance, sustainability and environmental management
  • will dialogue with community leaders about strategies and stories of reconciliation, peace building and defense of territories from a human rights perspective
  • will visit productive, community tourism, educational processes and experiences, led by women, peasant families and grassroots organizations
  • will participate in a space of solidarity and cultural expressions
Peace with nature and community governance: peasant communities and peace signatories defending territorial rights and building community governance