Article by PBI-Canada

On November 10, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project posted on Instagram: “In Putumayo PBI accompanied the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace during the Youth Festival in the La Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone.”

Justice and Peace accompanies Jani Silva, the president of the Association for the Integral Sustainable Development of the Perla Amazónica (ADISPA) that manages the ZRCPA. In turn, Justice and Peace has been accompanied by PBI-Colombia since 1994.

Justice and Peace highlights: “November 2020 marks 20 years of the constitution of the Perla Amazónica Peasant Reserve Zone, 20 years of permanent peace building, peasant identity and defense of the Amazon.”

It further notes that the Youth Week involves “meeting, analysis and discussion from the peasant perspective of the young people of the ZRCPA, to share, play, learn, and travel the territory, recognize the biodiversity of this common home.”

Justice and Peace also tweeted photos from each of the days, including this tweet featuring a photo of the painting of the beautiful mural in the photo above.

And Contagio Radio reports: “More than 60 young people attended the meeting of the October 22-25 where they shared experiences, knowledge and learning to recognize and care for the Amazon as a land of peace.”

The ZRCPA is located near Puerto Asis in the department of Putumayo, located in south-west Colombia near the border with Ecuador.

Puerto Asis is located just 60 kilometres south-east of Orito, the hub of Putumayo’s oil operations where Calgary-based Frontera Energy operates. Additionally, Calgary-based Canacol Energy Ltd. is involved in the Capella oil field in the Caguán-Putumayo basin and Calgary-based Gran Tierra Energy Inc. has described itself as the “premier operator and top landholder” in the Putumayo basin.

The birdwatching, astronomy, exploring of flora and fauna, workshops on biodynamic agriculture, and the adoption of trees all helped participants recognize our interconnectedness with nature and the importance of protecting and nurturing it.