Colombia’s Caribbean coast – High in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Wiwa community of Gomke once lived in relative isolation on lush mountain slopes above Dibulla. Today, families are constructing a new settlement called Shegunamke on lower terrain amid a tropical dry forest. The shift reflects a deliberate choice to maintain social ties, education, and spiritual practices as climate extremes and security concerns intensify.
A Collective Decision for Continuity
Community leaders describe the relocation as voluntary and strategic rather than forced. Severe weather has made the original highland site increasingly difficult to reach, while the presence of armed groups has added layers of risk. By moving to more accessible land, the Wiwa aim to keep families together and sustain daily life without severing connections to their ancestral territory. The new village sits near Riohacha, offering practical advantages while remaining within the broader Sierra Nevada region. Residents have also secured additional parcels at higher elevations. These upper lands remain untouched, a conscious step to safeguard rivers and springs that supply water to communities downstream.
Guarding the Páramo and Its Waters
Roberto Carlos Coronado Calvo, rector of the Wiwa educational institution Shenzhawimaku, explains the reasoning behind leaving higher ground undisturbed. “We have left [those] untouched so that rivers, springs and bodies of water do not die,” he said. “If we begin clearing and cutting into the páramo, how can we guarantee life for those living below?” This approach blends practical survival with longstanding cultural obligations to the land. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, often called the Heart of the World by its Indigenous stewards, rises dramatically from the Caribbean and supports ecosystems that sustain millions beyond its slopes. Protecting the páramo therefore carries implications far beyond any single village.
Education Rooted in Place and Tradition
Shenzhawimaku combines standard schooling with instruction in the Wiwa language, cultural knowledge, and the community’s relationship to the territory. The institution travels with the people, ensuring that children continue learning both modern subjects and the values tied to their surroundings. Such continuity matters in a region where many Indigenous groups have faced displacement from climate disasters or conflict. The Wiwa strategy seeks to avoid fragmentation by relocating as a cohesive group rather than scattering.
A Landscape That Draws Travelers and Demands Care
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta attracts adventurers drawn to its biodiversity, ancient trails, and the renowned Ciudad Perdida trek. Yet the same mountains that inspire visitors also face mounting pressures from changing weather patterns and external actors. The Wiwa experience offers travelers a reminder that these landscapes remain living homelands, not merely scenic backdrops. Communities like the Wiwa continue to shape how the Heart of the World endures. Their measured adaptations highlight both resilience and the quiet work required to keep cultural and ecological systems intact for future generations.
