Impact Spotlight

Progress towards purchasing 13,000 total acres of ancestral territory

Offering a stable source of electricity for the 450 Arhuaco community members of Seykún

Guaranteeing proper storage of vaccines and food through dependable refrigeration

About

Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a small, isolated mountain range on the northern tip of South America which because of its extreme variation in elevation, as well as its location, includes almost every ecosystem found in tropical America. In a span of just 26 miles, the Caribbean coast ascends to glacial tundra atop earth’s tallest coastal mountain. This mosaic of ecosystems is home to three-quarters as many bird species as the entire United States, yet is only the size of Los Angeles. In fact, it has the highest concentration of endemic species on the planet.

According to several scientific studies, ecosystems are healthiest on lands that Indigenous people manage or own, and Indigenous-managed lands have as much or more biodiversity than do national parks. However, extractive industries and generations of colonialism have sought to remove Indigenous people of the Colombian Amazon from their ancestral lands.

Ofrenda A’bunna was born in 2016 from a multigenerational mission to recuperate and regenerate Arhuaco ancestral territory in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Since then, Ofrenda A’bunna has purchased 8,000 acres of land surrounding Seykún, an Arhuaco Indigenous village. Seykún is one of ten communities that were created as part of the Arhuacos’ strategy to recover and restore Arhuaco ancestral territory outside of reservation land. Each new piece of land purchased around these ‘satellite’ communities is inhabited by young Arhuaco families.

“The grant from the Honnold Foundation will help us reach our goal to recuperate and regenerate our ancestral territory.”

— Seyaru’kwingumu, Co-Director and Co-Founder, Ofrenda A’bunna

HF Partnership

In partnership with the Honnold Foundation, Ofrenda A’bunna is solarizing Seykún, along with its main office, stabilizing access to electricity for the entire community, and ultimately helping the community reach their goal of purchasing and protecting 5,000 more acres of land by 2028. The installation will power a health clinic, community kitchen, community meeting house, elementary school, and more— ensuring that the community’s 450 inhabitants have a stable, clean source of electricity year-round.

This project helps heal historic wounds by supporting the Arhuaco people to revitalize their ancestral territory. For the Arhuaco, regenerating the land is the foundation for their spirituality, health, language, food and history.