Six years ago, the Colombian government and FARC combat group signed peace accords, ending the 50 year old conflict. The people of Guaviare are working every day toward peace.
Two men fish on the Guaviare river, in the rural regions of Colombia.
Maria, a student from the Rosario University in Bogota, watches a Colombian local get a fruit from a tree at his restaurant.
The first farm belongs to a former coca farmer, who transitioned to tourism as a way of providing for his family by bringing tourists on a hike in the Amazon. He lives comfortably with his family now with the help of Geotours, after struggling to find another way to make a living besides selling coca.
Six years ago, the FARC combat group and Colombian government signed peace accords, ending a fifty-year conflict. Since then, they have been working toward promoting peace in society.
Don Martin shows how they used to harvest coca leaves from a coca plant from one plant he kept for educational purposes.
After the peace accords were signed, he joined a government program that was supposed to compensate farmers for destroying all their coca crops, but after six years, he has still not received the full compensation he was promised.
Tourism is an economic and ethical outlet for Martin and his farm, which contributes to the peace process.
Martin has spent his life in this community, watching change through the conflict and peace treaty. He is now a part of the PNIS program, a government program that provides resources and compensation for creating a new business other than the coca plant, although Martin said he has not received the full compensation.
When the boy’s father was around his age, his family taught him how to process cocaine, but he decided he wanted a better life for his son. Now, they educate tourists on the dangers of cocaine consumption to reconcile with those they hurt during the conflict.
Kid's shoes sit on top of a barn at a campesino's home, rain dripping off the bottom of them.
The campesino stands in his greenhouse, showing the plants he is growing in the process of reconnected the Amazon forest.
He said he has learned to love his land, and he hopes to die on it.
Alongside Geotours, the Foundation for Conservation and Development is an organization working with the community members to rebuild the Amazon. They teach farmers and families how to reconnect the forest, regrow and replant wildlife, work sustainably and appreciate the land they live on.
A family who lives on the edge of the Amazon Forest cooks dinner while their kids play outside of the kitchen. They have a beautiful waterfall in their backyard, and they just recently transitioned to tourism with Geotours and the foundation.
The farmers said that during the conflict, growing coca and processing cocaine was the only way they could survive. “No one was doing it to become wealthy; everyone was trying to survive,” they said.
The ex-combatant currently has ten projects underway, including a food processing plant, where the camp can work with farmers and other community members to sell food in the closest city, San Hose del Guaviare. This project would generate sustainable, ethical income for the farmers, ex-combatant community members and families in the rural areas of Guaviare.
Don Noe stands in a food processing plant in the ETCR, where they plan to collaborate with farmers to sell packaged food to the nearby towns.
Don Noe's son runs after their dog down the road toward their house at the ETCR in Guaviare, Colombia. r
This ex-FARC combatant, Don Noe, was recruited by and joined the FARC when he was 12; he stayed in combat for 36 years. After the peace accords were signed, he became project manager for the ex-combatant community, and he lives with his partner and son in a green and yellow house.
Don Noe's cat sit outside his house on a table at the ETCR in Guaviare, Colombia.
A woman walks into her home after putting laundry out to dry at the ETCR in Guaviare, Colombia.
In between two of the farms, a women’s collective is using Amazonian fruits to make ice cream and baked goods, a sustainable business for the Amazon Forest. The project is facilitated by the Foundation for Conservation and Development to not only conserve the Amazon, but also help employ the women of Guaviare.
At seven years old, Don Edison was processing cocaine.
Don Edison holds cocaine paste in his hand, which he has kept a small amount of for educational purposes.
The son of a campesino in Guaviare dreams of being a singer when he grows up, something that would not be possible without the transition to tourism and community building in Guaviare.
Pictographs that are thousands of years old are shown on a mountain in the Amazon Rainforest in Guaviare, Colombia.
A trans rights organization gives sanctuary to trans sex workers, giving them a place to read and sleep. They have a bright, beautiful energy, despite continuing to struggle even after the peace accords were implemented.
A trans sex worker poses for a picture in her home in downtown Bogota, Colombia.
A woman gives fruit tours and teaches about peace during the tour in bogota, Colombia.
The "House of Peace" in Bogota, Colombia is a spot with reading, beer, art exhibits and shopping run by Ex-Farc combatants.
The basement of House of Peace is where the beer is made, which was what started this business.
Maria Zapata, a Colombian student at Rosario University, looks out the window of the jeep in the rural regions of Guaviare, Colombia.
