Thirty years ago,
a group of people from different cities and regions of Colombia
and from other countries as well, decided to drop out and move
to the high Sierras, to create an alternative life style, and
to learn from the Mamos, the shamans and elders from the Kogi
Nation. They began building their houses, raising their children,
growing their food, doing crafts, learning from the local indigenous
people, teaching what they knew, developing a sustainable and
spiritual environment, and becoming a new emerging tribe. They
came to be known as the Hippie/Kogis, founders of one of the oldest
Ecovillages of Colombia.
The Kogi, one of the largest and best preserved
indigenous communities in Colombia, together with the Arahuacos
and the Arzarios, have lived in that part of the Sierra Nevada
for centuries, maybe thousands of years, having very little contact
with the outside world, preserving their culture, language, environment,
forms of government and especially their religion. The first time
they opened their villages to the rest of the world was a few
years ago, when a crew from the BBC was allowed to get to their
hidden villages, talk to their Mamos and let the rest of us know
their message, “From the Heart of the World: a message from the
Kogi to their younger brothers.”
The Hippie/Kogis are a historical blend of cultures,
trying to live the best of both worlds, and three generations
of them, have given a very special flavor to the whole area. They
have formed an international community, which includes Colombians,
Argentineans, Danes and French families. This original community
is now part of the emerging Red de Ecoaldeas de Colombia (Colombian
Ecovillages Network), which was born this winter at a First Bioregional
Gathering, held in the department of Antioquia and hosted and
coordinated by La Caravana Arcoiris para la Paz.
On Sunday 12th March the Hippie/Kogis were at
a meeting in Bahia de Taganga, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada
de Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, when word arrived from
the mountains, that all their houses had been burned down to the
ground by the FARC, (Frente Armado Revolucionario de Colombia),
the largest guerrilla force in the country. Today the Kogi are
not allowed to leave their villages. They are confined to the
Sierra and are kept as hostages by the FARC in their battle with
the Paramilitary forces. Both are trying to hold that strategic
road that connects Colombia with the Venezuelan border and provides
access to the sea.
As a result of this arson, the Hippie/Kogis have
now joined the other 2,000,000 Colombian desplazados - farmers,
fishermen, indigenous people all over the country that have had
to leave their homes because of the war, and have become homeless,
jobless, robbed of their spirit and a growing problem for the
oversized cities.
A national and international appeal to all Ecovillages
Networks to let the world know about this situation is being coordinated
by The Colombian Ecovillages Network and Foundation Servir.
Contact people for all offers of help:
