The Arhuaco indigenous people of Colombia recently sent a delegation for their first official visit to Greece. The Arhuaco are one of the 102 indigenous communities in Colombia. They have been established for centuries in the Sierra Nevada mountains, east of Santa Marta, and are the direct heirs of the Pre-Columbian Tayrona culture.
By Victor Cohen
The visit aimed to present an innovative solar panel project developed between the indigenous community and GreenWood Energy, a renewable energy company based in Colombia and Panama, and a subsidiary of the Libra Group. The Terra Initiative, Colombia aims to create energy-sufficient and sustainable villages for the Arhuaco community while respecting their ancestral lifestyle, benefiting dozens of indigenous families.
Noel Alberto Torres, community leader of the Arhuacos and a political science graduate from the National University of Colombia, led the delegation to Greece. Elected by the elders, or Mamos, Torres is the official secretary of the Arhuaco people and oversees the Terra Initiative for the community.
‘In Greece, we found respect’
The Arhuacos’ reflections on their first visit to Greece are mixed. The indigenous delegation was received by local authorities, including the municipal authorities of Athens, MEP Alexis Georgoulis, as well as numerous diplomats and professors. The delegation also visited significant sites of ancient Greek culture, including its greatest monuments and ancient cultural, religious, and philosophical centers, such as the Acropolis, the Temple of Delphi, and the Temple of Poseidon.
However, according to Torres, the Arhuaco see beyond these human constructions. “These temples, from an Arhuaco point of view, do not mean much because they involve the manipulation of many materials from Mother Earth. What interests the Arhuaco is the mountain on which these buildings stand.”
Despite these different worldviews, the Arhuaco delegation appreciated the reception by the Greeks, highlighting the open-mindedness, interest, and respect they encountered among their interlocutors. They also recognized a similarity between their own and the Greek understanding of life and cosmology.
“We felt a deep interest in the project and how it was designed. […] We felt respect for our traditions, and a certain brotherhood, a certain synchronicity,” said the Arhuaco leader, affirming that “On a human level, we found much respect, more than in Colombia itself, which does not value indigenous peoples and their way of life, despite protecting 80 percent of biodiversity.”
Arhuaco’s reflection on the state of the world
The visit of this ancestral people to the cradle of the modern world was highly symbolic. One of the Arhuacos’ main concerns is respect for the Earth and nature, which they call Mother Earth, or Madre Tierra. Visiting Greece allowed the Arhuacos to gauge the current dynamics of the modern world and contrast their vision with its present state.
The delegation met with members of the European Parliament who shared their concerns about the current climate situation and environmental degradation. However, the indigenous leader’s conclusion remains unequivocal. “From what we saw, Europe does not have this concern to save Mother Earth,” stating the lack of a clear agenda or the lure of profit as factors behind this situation.
In general, the Arhuacos’ impressions of the world’s evolution remain alarming. “The so-called modern civilizations believe they hold the solutions when they are the ones who have created the problems,” he stated, lamenting the lack of consideration for indigenous communities, the guardians of the environment, on a global scale.
While in Europe, the Arhuaco delegation sought an audience with Pope Francis. Although unsuccessful, the idea remains to further amplify the voice of indigenous peoples globally.
When asked about a message he had for the world, Noel Torres insisted on the need to raise humanity’s awareness about the necessity of protecting the Earth. “As ancestral peoples, we want humanity to come to its senses, to realize and know that Mother Earth is a living being that needs our care. She does not need us, but we need her. All technology comes from Mother Earth.” For the sake of future generations, the Arhuaco leader invites humanity “to be more coherent and more aware of itself.”
‘We are not closed to development’
The Colombian state’s relationship with indigenous communities has historically been complicated. The Colombian Constitution officially designates almost one-third of the country’s territory as indigenous territories (resguardo indigena), including the Amazon, the Guajira, the Sierra Nevada, and the Pacific coastline.
The contrast between the indigenous ancestral, respectful-of-nature lifestyle and the country’s economic development dynamics has also generated conflict, either with the state or with illegal groups. However, the Arhuaco leader defends his people’s approach to modernity.
“To protect indigenous territory is to protect life. […] We are not closed to development, although we have this bad reputation in Colombia.” For Torres, the problem has historically been the government’s approach to indigenous people, stating that “The government wants to do things in its own way.”
Regarding the Terra Initiative, Torres emphasizes that the project has not required state intervention. “The state doesn’t have to put in a single peso, only allow legal procedures […] When there is dialogue, similar projects can be done,” he adds, highlighting the greater sensitivity of the Petro administration to the indigenous cause and the protection of the Sierra Nevada compared to previous administrations.
The originality of the Terra project lies in its conception. “Usually, development projects are designed in government offices without the consent of indigenous communities. They design it and then propose it, without realizing its significant environmental impact, and without giving it a spiritual focus,” says Noel Torres.
Contrary to traditional projects, Terra was designed jointly between GreenWood Energy’s technical staff and the Arhuaco community leaders. “It was a combination of modern techniques and ancestry, with the principles of our philosophy,” said the community leader. The construction site was directly selected by the Arhuaco spiritual leaders within the indigenous jurisdiction of the Sierra Nevada area.
In Greece, the Arhuaco delegation acted as ambassadors for this energy transition project. “It is practically a model project. In the Americas, we did not find anything similar,” affirms Torres. Through the success of the Terra Initiative, which has both environmental and social purposes, lies the potential to create an exportable and replicable model worldwide, allowing humanity to develop while ensuring less impact on the environment.
*The article was first published in Colombia One and was republished with permission.