The Department of Cauca in southern Colombia has suffered from years of armed guerilla conflict, which has left a struggling local economy and high levels of poverty in its wake. The Consorcio Interinstitucional para una Agricultura Sostenible En Ladera (CIPASLA, Inter-institutional Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture) has worked since 1993 to make local agriculture more profitable and sustainable by introducing new high-value crops and encouraging agriculture-related businesses. Along with this work has come an attention to social welfare and community organizing that has helped to overcome the disruption caused by years of conflict.

Underpinning the initiative's success across a broad rural landscape is an organizational makeup that incorporates six regional and local governmental agencies and authorities; five non-governmental organizations; one international partner; and the Cabuyal River Watershed Users' Association, an umbrella group consisting of twenty grassroots initiatives working in and around the Cabuyal River watershed.

 

Key Facts 

Equator Prize Winner: 2002

Founded: 1993

Location: Southern Colombian Andes

Beneficiaries: 30 communities

Biodiversity: Dry and montane forest ecosystems

 

Case Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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