Indigenous U’wa Women Territorial and Cultural Defense
Cloud Forest in Colombia (South America)
We are supporting the U’wa women to develop their Community Coffee Production Project. The project is rooted in the Guanuwa Reserve, a sacred land nearby Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. It provides the community the economic means to support their long term strategies for territorial defense, human rights defense, food security and sovereignty, and cultural survival.
United to Safeguard Ancestral Land & Dignity
Context
The U’wa Nation is located in a conflict zone in Colombia, where economic interests, large extractive corporations, and armed groups converge. The U’wa are a peaceful people who have suffered various forms of violence and even lost lives. After nearly 30 years of litigation, in December 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling recognizing that the Colombian State systematically violated the territorial and cultural rights of the U’wa Nation by imposing extractive projects on their territory without their consent. At the forefront of this legal process and the struggle to defend their territory have been U’wa women, who, overcoming cultural resistance, assumed leadership roles. While the community has many needs, for example in health and education, the women identify strengthening their nascent Community Coffee Production Project as a strategic priority to support the long term goals of theirs and neighboring indigenous communities.
Impact
The U’wa women dream of launching their own coffee brand reflecting their history and culture. A crucial first step is scaling up production to generate surpluses for reinvestment. The resulting sustainable income supports their indigenous school for children, their young leadership development program for territorial defense, their ancestral ways of growing food free from chemicals, their protection of ancestral seeds, and their harmonization work with non-indigenous neighbours. The U’wa women grow the coffee together with other vegetables and herbs. Growing and harvesting food and coffee are fundamental community moments where the women transmit knowledge, culture, spirituality and worldview to the children and the community at large. The coffee nursery also hosts the Indigenous School for children and serves as a community focal point.
Partnership
Our partnership allows the community to improve their post harvest processes so that their output significantly increases, production loss is minimized, and better quality coffee is obtained. The Guanuwa Reserve is a community of 60 U’wa families. This project directly improves their livelihood, their means for territorial and human rights defense, and safeguards their cultural legacy. As the project grows, a neighbour U’wa community of 220 families will be included. The U’wa commitment to protect their sacred lands is key to protect the health and biodiversity of their rich ecosystems and prevent further damage from extractivist activities and industries.