Our allies from Territory of Learning, Belén de Umbría, are inspiring Associations to sow peace with new crops in some of the most challenging regions of the the country – the post-conflict regions.

All the videos below introduce stories of peace & flavours – and are all wonderful projects in the public realm carried out by other organisations as credited in each audiovisual

ANDEAN REGION ~ REGION ANDINA

Antioquia and the Zona Cafetera make up perhaps the most progressive, go-ahead region in Colombia. Its people, los paisas, are very entrepreneurial and work the mountain slopes of the Andes Cordillera.

Maracuyá (passionfruit) is being grown in Briceño: Near Anorí (visited by the President of the Republic of Ireland), this municipality was chosen to be a pilot transformation muncipality with the UN FAO.

PACIFIC REGION ~ REGION PACIFICA

Cauca, in the South West, is home to the indigenous communities of the Paez or Nasa and Guambianos. As well as sugar cane, maize, rice, banana, agave, yucca, potatoes, coconut, sorghum, cocoa, coffee, groundnut & palm, Cauca is also home to Araza, or “Andean blueberry”, a super fruit high in antioxidants.

Coffee is a speciality of Cauca. There are wonderful coffee lands among the hills and valleys, which the Federation of Coffee Growers classifies in 4 regions.

CARIBBEAN REGION – REGION CARIBEÑA

Cordoba, on the Atlantic coast north of the border with Panama, is the centre of cattle ranching. The region also grows maize, cotton, rice, yucca, plantain, coconut and mango. 

Cashew (Marañon) production could quadruple just to meet current national demand. For the surge of interest in plant-based food, there is cashew butter, cashew flour and cashew milk, not to mention the fruit of the cashew for jams, vinegar and wine.

THE EASTERN PRAIRIES  ~ LOS LLANOS

Arauca is a land of prairies and the River Arauca is the boundary with Venezuela. The prairies (llanos) have widen open skies – and their own style of music, played with the harp and el cuatro, a four-stringed type of mandolin.

Cocoa: Elizabeth Agudelo, growing cocoa with all her heart, is an inspiration! Her company Aroma a Cacao produces 7 gourmet bars of chocolate, which tell the story of Arauca en cocoa with notes of coffee, citrus, fried plantain and four other flavours. There are 4,600 cocoa growers in the surrounding region.

AMAZON REGION ~ AMAZONIA

Caquetá is a territory which borders the Amazon Rainforest. The River Caguán is the longest river in Colombia, 2,820km.

Amazonian Exotic Fruits are a whole world of their own – not only are their flavours amazing, so are their names! The best known are: Arazá (Amazonian guava or pear), Cocona (Amazonian lulo) and Copoazú (from the same family as Cocoa, its nut is used to make white chocolate). Other fruits are Camu-camu, Caimito, Caimitillo, Caimorana, Carambola, Charihuelo, Pitomba, Pitango, Pildoro and many more . . . 

Here is the story of a group who laid down their weapons in the peace process and are now growing pineapple and running a fruit pulp plant ~ see video from 3 mins onwards.