The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has posted on social media:
“On 24 and 31 July and 1 August, we joined the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (@justiciapazcolombia) and ADISPA [the Association for the Integral Sustainable Development of the Amazonian Pearl] for two days of meetings in the Perla Amazónica [Amazon Pearl] Peasant Reserve Zone [ZRCPA] (Puerto Asís, Putumayo) and a day of activities with young people.
On the first day, ADISPA presented its accountability report and financial statements for completed projects, as well as the achievements made in the reserve area. On the second day, the assembly elected a new board of directors. As a result, Jani Silva is stepping down as head of ADISPA after a quarter of a century involved in the organizational work of the Perla Amazónica.
The ZRCPA was established by Resolution 069 of 2000 issued by the then INCORA [Colombian Institute for Agrarian Reform]. It comprises 23 villages and around 800 farming families, with collective management of the territory through community agreements on development planning.
Over the years, the initiative has drawn up farm plans, through which each family plans their farm in line with the collective land-use planning. It has also focused on strengthening crops to ensure food sovereignty, short supply chains, forest conservation and restoration, community-led biodiversity monitoring, beekeeping and community-based tourism…
This same initiative gave rise to MEMPA, the women’s organization; JURADIPA, the youth group; the Promotoría Campesina [Farmer’s Advocacy Group], a forum for the exchange of knowledge; and La Canoa, the brand under which the reserve’s products are marketed. Jani Silva has supported this process since its inception.
The final day of our accompaniment involved an activity with young people in the reserve.
As Peace Brigades International, we stand alongside the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace @justiciapazcolombia and ADISPA in defending the rights of the peasant communities of the ‘Pearl of the Amazon’, in the belief that caring for the land is an act of peace.
#Putumayo #PerlaAmazonica #PeasantReserveZones #ADISPA #Colombia #HumanRightsDefenders”
Accompaniment
Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission since 1994.
PBI-Canada also extends its best wishes to Jani Silva who visited Wet’suwet’en, Gitxsan and Gitanyow territory in northern British Columbia, Canada in June 2025.
Photo: Silva with Wet’suwet’en land and environmental defender Sleydo’.
