Discovering the Chocó region: Overwhelming nature, great challenges and great opportunities by Karin Albornoz

Quibdó, Chocó region, Colombia

Chocó is a unique region in Colombia. It brings together a particular combination of features: it is the most socio-economically marginalized region, in part because of its physical isolation from the rest of the country. Further, it is one of the wettest places on earth which hampers economic activity. It became a refuge for the Afro-Colombians, displaced by the arrival of armed groups in the 1990s. This ethnic group makes up 80-85% of the population and did not traditionally have access to financial resources. They found safety here in Choco, but have since had to adapt to difficult conditions enduring years of neglect by the central government.

As you may imagine, each of these factors individually are very complicated and difficult to solve. However, when considered together, it is clear that the resulting challenges will require highly integrative approaches to come up with sustainable solutions to improve the wellbeing of the communities.

The Chocó region (shown in red in the first image) is located in the northwest of Colombia. It has coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and is close to the western range of the Andes.

Dr. Diane Beckles and I departed on Thursday, November 30th from Sacramento, and after 4 stops and several hours flying, the beauty of this incredible region was revealed in real time as we crossed the beautiful mountainous region covered with lush vegetation. I was reminded that this rugged, untamed natural beauty, separates Chocó from the outside world, provided a refuge from war for his inhabitants, and shapes the climatic factors that make agriculture here very demanding.

The mountainous region covered with lush vegetation that "separates" Chocó from the major cities in Colombia. There are only two "established" roads from Chocó to the coasts. Travel is mainly by boat or plane.

After checking in the hotel, we decided to make our first stop to one of the local supermarkets of Quibdó (Chocó region’s capital) to get food and some essentials. This was also the perfect opportunity to observe firsthand, the postharvest conditions of the local fruit and vegetables. We did not expect the produce to match that in Davis supermarkets, but we were nonetheless shocked at the display which included decaying vegetables and fruit. We accepted that this observation may not be representative of that of Chocó and that we needed to visit other supermarkets before coming to any conclusions.

The quality and shelf-life of the fruit and vegetables was greatly compromised, since they exhibited serious signs of decay and deterioration.

After our first adventure in Chocó, we spent the rest of the evening talking to our dear friend, cooperating partner and “local resource” (how he describes himself), Fredrick Fox, who helped us understanding the socio-cultural context in which the Chocó region was shaped.

Now with more information in our hands, we will start getting immersed in the reality of the postharvest practices of the communities, with particular focus on the women of the Chocó. They are economic drivers and engines of the region. 

To be continued…