(Planadas) The bird lands at the top of an electric pole. Tyrannus melancholicus Where Pyrocephalus rubinus? Long black hair and laughing eyes, two girls below consult each other for a moment. It will be rubinus ! they decide, a sparrow with a bright red breastplate.
In the heart of Colombia, in the heart of the green mountains of Planadas, this ornithological debate in Latin, by indigenous children, is astonishing. Looking towards the undergrowth, about thirty people, young and old, from all communities, participate that day on a sunken lane in a day of bird watching.
The initiative intends to work for peace in this department of Tolima long ravaged by war between the army and the guerrillas of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Five years after the signing of a peace accord, Planadas has regained its peace of mind, but the fractures of the conflict remain.
“The birds are an excuse to bring us together and get our children out of the war,” explains Camilo Enciso, founder of the Association of Ecological Producers of Planadas (Asopep), promoter of the operation.
There are children of former FARC combatants, whose parents live in a “reincorporation” camp. There are NASA, indigenous people who for a long time served as auxiliaries to the army. And families of peasants, who are also often victims of the conflict.
We greet each other, we talk to each other, but we don’t necessarily mix. Then begins the walk, nose in the air and binoculars in hand. The multicolored birds perched on the branches immediately captivate, create dialogue and a heartwarming brotherhood.
“What is happening here is unique”, rejoices Diego Calderon, a professional ornithologist who has come to support the project. “Being at peace with nature helps us to be at peace with ourselves and with others,” argues this biologist, himself a hostage of the FARC in 2004.
“I used to kill hummingbirds with my blowpipe to eat them. Today I contemplate them with my children who are learning about the richness of our gardens, our forests, ”smiles Justiniano Paya, a NASA chief.
The ex-FARC Neira, mother of two children, who confides her “difficulties” in reintegrating into civilian life, has also taken a liking to this “very gratifying experience”. “Birds connect us, teach us how to protect what we have here”.
“Reconciliation is thus being built in small steps”, pleads Mayra Luz Ruiz Nedira, project manager at Asopep. “Bird watching allows inhabitants to see their territory differently, while highlighting its ecological and tourist potential,” adds Mr. Enciso.
Arabica sommelier
With the same idea of “enhancing” the region, long inaccessible due to the war, Asopep is working on another local wealth: coffee.
Almost everywhere in the valleys, plantations cling to the mountainsides. The climate is ideal in this part of the Andes mountain range, where sun and heavy rains alternate.
While world prices have never been so high, coffee is contributing to new prosperity.
More than 6,000 families make a living from Planadas coffee, with its characteristic fruitiness and acidity. On a cooperative model, Asopep buys the precious grain from its 380 members in order to resell it to around fifty customers in the United States, Europe and Asia, giving priority to “quality”.
“The idea is to provide both knowledge and technical assistance to the producer, so that he knows the real value of his coffee, in which country it is sold, at what price. And let him get the real income at the end of it, ”said Mr. Enciso.
In its premises, the Association ensures the entire production process: selection, drying, roasting and the very delicate tasting which allows the grapes to be classified. And therefore to set the right price, for the right customer.
The Association has already trained 25 tasters, including Vanessa Castro, a 19-year-old “quality chef” who at a glance distinguishes fragrances, flavors and other degrees of acidity …
“We have understood the importance of transforming and enhancing our coffee,” boasts Camillo Enciso, proud of the “eight international certifications” received.
“There is a future here now. The war is no longer there. There is work, resources, nature… We have started to live and produce together again. We are united “.