A Bridge Between the Sierra and the World   

Ati Villafañe grew up on Colombia’s northern coast, going between the city of Santa Marta and her ancestral village of Kutunsama, which for the Arhuaco Indigenous people means “the root of knowledge.”   Ati is one of seven Indigenous students from Colombia who are part of a scholarship program supported by the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) and the Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogota. For the scholarship students, the goal is not to leave their territory behind: instead, they are encouraged…

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Strengthening Indigenous Land Rights in Colombia

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Kogui Census 2019 to 2019

In Santa Marta, Colombia, earlier this year, preparations began for a series of expeditions into the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. More than a dozen teams—each composed of indigenous peoples and western professionals—prepared their gear for weeks-long trips into the remote mountains.

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Impact: Sacred Sites

Kogi people in a group

We know that our partner communities can best safeguard their forests when they have access to their traditional territories, sustainable livelihoods, and intact traditions. But there is often more. The elders frequently tell us that in order for their communities to truly flourish, they need to control lands that are sacred to them. From our…

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