SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Under this thematic area, the Fund aims to close historic equality gaps in the territories most affected by the conflict. It is precisely these gaps that have been the historic causes of the conflicts, generating greater repercussions in the lives of the women who live there.
That is why the Fund has backed initiatives that seek to:
- Transform and reactivate the territorial economy, through inclusive, differential and powerful strategies that look to promote access to development for rural women. These aim to overcome poverty and promote the belief that they can change and improve their territorial realities through the elimination of discriminatory barriers and the strengthening of capacities to gain their economic independence.
- Recognise and value the contributions of female leaders and defenders of life and their rights, through the implementation of effective prevention and self-protection measures, as well as by providing tools that strengthen institutional capacities to ensure their effective participation, and to ensure they are supported and protected in the event of risks or threats arising from their leadership roles.
- Remove barriers to ensure their access to local justice with a gender perspective, enabling the establishment of effective support pathways, enhancing the responsiveness of officials responsible for upholding their rights, and addressing situations of gender-based violence (GBV) that still persist in both their private and public environments.
Yesica: from coca to cacao, harvesting hope
Yesica was born and bred in a corner of Catatumbo where coca was not just an option, it was the only possibility. From a young age, she witnessed how her mother, like many women in the region, raised her children alone, facing poverty with her hands in the earth and her heart bursting with resistance. Coca provided their daily bread: food on the table, notebooks for school. But it also marked a difficult routine split between crops and classes, a routine that forged the path for Yesica and her four siblings.
In spite of her mother’s tireless efforts, the money was never enough. Yesica teen years were fraught with sacrifice: leaving behind her studies to dedicate herself fully to toiling in the fields to contribute to the household. When she was 18, history seemed to be repeating itself: Yesica became a single mother and, like her own mother, found herself dependant on coca as her only means of survival.
But three years later, something changed. Yesica became pregnant again and, alongside her new partner, decided to take a radical turn. With a lot of effort, they managed to buy a small plot in the San Juan de San Calixto settlement, and there they planted new hope. They left coca behind and put their faith in cacao, convinced that a different life was possible.
It was not an easy path, but they found support. They joined Asoprozonor, an association that promotes sustainable agriculture and encourages rural youth leadership in the north-west of San Calixto. There, Yesica received training in proper agricultural practices, learned how to improve the quality of cocoa, and became familiar with the commercialisation process, opening up a world that had previously seemed out of reach.
Thanks to the support of the “Cacao, the Heart of Catatumbo”, strategy, backed by the Fund, Yesica, like many other female farmers – strengthened her role as a leader, recognising her ability to transform not only her own life, but also the lives of those in her community. She left behind practices linked to illicit economies and today promotes a sustainable way of life, with her feet firmly on the ground and her eyes set on the future.
Cacao not only provided them with economic relief; it also gave them dignity. Today. Yesica and her family live with greater stability, actively take part in community spaces, and feel part of a collective process of territorial transformation. She has gained autonomy and independence, and now has renewed dreams for the future.
Currently, Yesica
continues to grow cacao with love and dedication, but she also makes time for herself: she has taken up her studies again with the decided intention to graduate from high school and study veterinary medicine, because her love for animals goes hand in hand with her identity as a rural cacao farmer and peace builder.
The Fund recognises and values the contributions of rural women to their own territorial realities. For this reason, it promotes the removal of barriers that disproportionately affect women and supports strategies that improve their living conditions and access to economic resources through training and agricultural modernisation that encourage licit economies. Yesica story is an inspiration and a symbol of hope for women who, like her, live and work in the countryside and are committed to changing their own realities in pursuit of social and economic autonomy