The traditional afro-farm as adaptation strategy to tackle climate and water challenges
Project Overview
Characterisation of the traditional afro-farm as socioecological system and integral Nature-Based Solution (NBS) to face climate and water challenges.
What problem was the project designed to solve?
This is an ongoing project that looks for recovering and making visible the traditional knowledge of a black riverine community in relation to its traditional farm as an strategy to tackle climate and water crisis. At the same time, this farm model provides for food sovereignty and ecosystems conservation. From an engineering point of view this may be understood as an integral NBS for adaptation to climate change and the global water crisis.
What did the project do and who was involved? How were you involved?
The project characterised the afro-farms in a rural district of the municipality of Jamundí in south-west Colombia. It involved the riverine black community of Bocas del Palo, its community organisations, and few other stakeholders. We were involved as academia doing field research and supporting some community processes and the women leadership.
Miguel Ricardo Peña Varón
Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Cinara Institute, Universidad del Valle Cali, Colombia.
Federico Pinzón
What was the outcome?
This is an ongoing process that concerns the community of Bocas del Palo, located in the upper basin of the Cauca River, southwestern Colombia. Approximately 700 people live in this village, and this is an Afro-descendant and riverside community that preserves agri-food structures such as traditional farms, which contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, protect associated ecosystems and constitute a source of healthy food for the population. In addition to this, its most common economic activities and livelihoods are fishing and sand extraction, as well as various services that are mostly carried out by women: care and upbringing in early childhood, gastronomy and teaching. The community of Bocas del Palo, together with its Community Council, also has social organisations in which women play a central role in the defence of this riverside territory.
What challenges did you address and how were they addressed?
The project is still facing the challenge of adaptation to climate change and extreme events such as water scarcity in dry seasons and flooding during the wet periods. Nonetheless, other anthropogenic stressors such as urban growth, road and public infrastructure along with poor water and environmental sanitation services for the village, exacerbate the impact of the extreme climatic events.