Constructing autonomy, territory and peace
In the decades-long conflict in Colombia, agroecology has emerged as a strategy that helps women to cope with the war and to feed their families. AMOY, a women farmers organisation, not only promotes agroecological activities, but also supports women to counteract the cruelty of war by providing a space to express fear and sadness, to find refuge, and to protect themselves from armed groups.
In the past 50 years, around 5,2 million Colombian farmers have been displaced from their lands, and about 8 million hectares of farmland were taken from their owners due to Colombia’s internal armed conflict. The war and neoliberal policies caused suffering, especially for women farmers. In order to overcome this situation, many women started to participate in agroecological processes, improving their agroecosystems, and at the same time fighting for social and environmental justice. A good example is the experience of AMOY, the Association of Organised Women from the town of Yolombó in the Antioquia department. These women show that agroecology can contribute to the transformation of power relations that were formerly used to subordinate them.