Colombian tribes food system

With some 87 ethnic groups and 65 different languages, Colombia is the second most ethnically diverse country in the Americas, after Brazil. Indigenous communities in Colombia practice a sustainable food system that involves artisanal fishing and rotating crop structures within cycles of flooding periods. The tribes have accustomed to sustaining biodiversity in places of living. According to U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization report, thee food systems have allowed the 22 communities in the area to live sustainably without damaging the forest’s extremely high rates of biodiversity.

The Tikuna, Cocama and Yagua tribes of Puerto Nariño use handmade arrows, hooks and spurs to practice artisanal fishing in local rivers while also growing cassava, pineapple, corn, rice and chestnuts on communal land. A recent report describes how the flood season begins in February, bringing fish to new areas of the flooded forest to reproduce and fertilize the soil. Come May, the waters recede and attract more land mammals that can be hunted. The shifting focus on different parts of the ecosystem allows biodiversity to rebound from what residents consume.

Many of the nearly 7,000 residents structure their diet around the chagra, forest plots less than a hectare (2.5 acres) in size that each family clears to grow more than 80 different kinds of fruits, vegetables and tubers, as well as 28 species of trees. Community members also depend on their chagras for hunting animals such as the black agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa), red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus) and tapir (Tapirus terrestris).

In terms of food, the people of Puerto Nariño don’t need to buy anything as they have more than enough food. Forests fertilized during the high-water seasons provide the community with wild fruits and vegetables, such as cocoa (Theobroma cacao), while creating rich soil for plants for cultivation, like guava (Psidium guajava). Other foods can be grown year-round regardless of flooding. According to the report, more collaborative efforts need to be made between the community, academic circles, the government and NGOs to strengthen knowledge exchange from older generations to younger ones.