Big Projects Made Reality

Senior Audiovisual Journalist | Investigative Journalist

Kamëntsas and Ingas: Strengthening Indigenous Self-Sufficiency Through the IRACA® Program

Large-scale development takes root when Indigenous knowledge, land, and collective work lead the way toward lasting self-sufficiency.

The Kamëntsas and Ingas peoples deeply revere Mother Earth as the source of life and sustenance. Their strong connection to the land enables them to preserve cultural heritage, maintain environmental balance, and sustain their communities. Through collective work, they support one another, ensuring the continuation of their traditions and ways of life. Land ownership is central to their agricultural practices and essential to their long-term survival.

Through the IRACA® program, these communities receive targeted support for food security and productive practices, empowering Indigenous and Afro-Colombian households to strengthen their own development and achieve greater self-sufficiency.

The Colombian Government, in collaboration with Social Prosperity and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), has implemented projects across critical sectors including health, education, housing, sanitation, income generation, environmental sustainability, industrial safety, and institutional support. These initiatives have complemented and enhanced grassroots efforts led by Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.

The success of these interventions is rooted in rigorous implementation, sustainable support, and respectful collaboration, reinforced by strategic alliances with local and international actors.

These efforts, part of a larger development communication and storytelling strategy, have reached over five million viewers across North and Latin America through institutional platforms, including broadcast on Discovery Channel’s Hecho en Colombia. This visibility has played a key role in amplifying Indigenous voices and showcasing sustainable, community-led development on a global scale.

Recovered Communities and Culture

Senior Audiovisual Journalist | Investigative Journalist

Resilience and Recovery in KM 28, Chilvicito, and Pindales: A Decade of Community-Led Transformation.

When communities return after displacement, recovery begins not with infrastructure, but with people reclaiming their land, memory, and shared future.

In June 2009, violent clashes between illegal armed groups forced residents of KM 28, Chilvicito, and Pindales — villages along Colombia’s Pasto-Tumaco Road — to flee to urban centers, leaving them displaced and without the resources to navigate unfamiliar environments.

Despite years of hardship, a group of women leaders initiated a return to their ancestral lands, determined to rebuild their culture, livelihoods, and food systems. With a focus on sustainability, they developed local solutions to improve productivity, strengthen community leadership, and increase food self-sufficiency.

Through the FEST (Families in Their Land) program, Social Prosperity and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) supported thousands of displaced Colombians, contributing to long-term stabilization by investing in food security, infrastructure, and human capital. In KM 28, Chilvicito, and Pindales, the community constructed three eco-huts with vegetable gardens and recycling centers, while leading educational and participatory initiatives tailored to local needs.

The Colombian government implemented hundreds of complementary projects spanning health, education, housing, sanitation, income generation, environmental sustainability, and institutional strengthening, building a comprehensive support network for displaced families.

These efforts, part of a larger portfolio of development storytelling and multimedia campaigns, have reached over five million viewers across North and Latin America through institutional platforms, including a PSA broadcast on DirecTV. The success of these interventions is rooted in rigorous implementation, strategic alliances, and respectful, long-term collaborations with local communities.