The challenges of the communities
Rural communities in Colombia face multiple structural challenges that profoundly affect their quality of life. The main ones include unemployment, limited access to basic services such as health and education, impoverishment and persistent sociopolitical violence.
These problems are particularly visible in regions such as Caldas —an Andean coffee-growing area— and Caquetá —an Amazonian region—, where living conditions in rural areas are characterised by high levels of multidimensional poverty, environmental degradation, land use conflicts and exposure to natural hazards.
Both in Caldas and Caquetá, the armed conflict has left deep scars: forced displacement, loss of land, social and territorial control, as well as stigmatization of rural communities.
These impacts have created scenarios of vulnerability that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this crisis, economic difficulties deepened, social tensions intensified, and mobility was restricted in many areas, generating feelings of fear, uncertainty and isolation.
