Indigenous Food Sovereignty - Sesquilé, Colombia

Support the indigenous Mhuysqa community of Sesquilé's food sovereignty project to preserve their way of life for future generations. Based in the neotropical highlands outside of Bogota, Colombia, the community is working hard to recover and revitalize what is left of their wilderness. They are recovering damaged farmland using indigenous farming methods to grow food for themselves while restoring native ecosystems and teaching these methods to the youth.

My name is Sophie Cooper, and I am from the mountains of Northern California. In 2009, I was fortunate to visit the Mhuysqa (pronounced Muisca) community in Sesquilé, Colombia. I witnessed a community in the process of recovering ancient traditions that had been all but wiped out for hundreds of years. Reclaiming damaged farmland, establishing nature preserves, reviving the unspoken language, and re-engaging the ancient ceremonies, they seemed to be doing the impossible: Remembering what had been dismantled through half a century of Colonial history.

I was so moved by the story of this community that I began working with them to create a documentary film. I worked with a small group of artists volunteering their time and expertise and rallied support from friends and family to bring the film to life. The documentary Seeds of Gold, completed in 2014, shares this community's story of cultural renewal through the eyes of the youth. You can watch the documentary and learn more about the community on the website seedsofgoldmovie.com

The documentary is now available and can be watched online here, for free. We invite you to directly support the community and the continuation of the Mhuysqa way of life. While the ending of this story has not yet been written, every one of us can influence how the next chapter unfolds.

Strengthening food sovereignty is essential for the continuation of this indigenous community and the way of life they are working to restore. By placing the controls for the production and distribution of food directly into their hands, the communities' families are sustained, and the methods employed inherently generate a sustainable relationship with the natural world, protecting the unique paramo (neotropical high mountain biome) from further development.

Funds gathered here will go directly to the community to purchase farming supplies and to buy back their native lands.

I believe that supporting indigenous communities is one of the most potent ways to counter destructive trends of capitalism and industrialization and work toward a sustainable relationship with life on earth for all of us.

Please join us in supporting a thriving relationship with the natural world for future generations. You can watch and share the documentary Seeds of Gold at seedsofgoldmovie.com