Strengthening the socio-productive network of the municipalities of northern Cauca by diversifying panela production among 200 farming families.

  • Country: Colombia.
  • Location: Municipalities in the northern part of the Department of Cauca.
  • Duration: June 2016 to May 2019.
  • Participants: 200 rural families, panela producers.
  • Area of specialization: Vocational training and microentrepreneurship, Rural market development.

Starting point

In the Department of Cauca, located in southwestern Colombia, 60% of the population lives in rural areas and 41.6% identify as belonging to an ethnic group.

Its economy is primarily based on agricultural production. The unequal distribution of land and other structural factors result in high poverty rates. Among the causes of this situation are inequality and conflict in the department due to the presence of powerful mining companies, which generate serious environmental crises, community displacement, and violations of human, social, and cultural rights.

Furthermore, Cauca is a corridor with a strong presence of illegal armed groups vying for control of drug trafficking. Added to this is the historical presence of guerrillas in the department, where various guerrilla groups are responsible for kidnappings, the killing of local community leaders, rape of women, and the forced displacement of families.

Currently, the social, political, and development agenda in Colombia is marked by the need to lay the foundations for peace and reverse the negative impact of the conflict at the national and municipal levels. Various public policies have been designed to achieve this goal.

Objective

The project’s primary objective is to create stable conditions in the department of Cauca, in the face of the ongoing internal conflict. The secondary objective, to achieve the above, is to strengthen the productive and associative network of 200 panela-producing peasant families, in order to improve income generation, facilitate their settlement, and prevent displacement.

What is the project about

CODESPA will strengthen the Regional Association for Rural Development in Northern Cauca (ARDECAN) to channel community and citizen participation. It will also be essential to promote the progressive and effective exercise of the civil, social, and economic rights of its members.

Through training, panela-producing families’ associational capacities and market access will be improved, with the goal of increasing their income. This will be achieved through technological modernization, diversification, and market access as suppliers of panela products for local, national, and international consumption. All of this will contribute to the creation of decent living conditions that facilitate the establishment of roots in the territory and prevent the displacement of these rural families

Entities that support this project