The dry forest connects the inhabitants of the Montes de María region, a small mountain range near the northern coast of Colombia. It is host to one of the most threatened ecosystems in the country, which covers today only 8 percent of its original extension.
The forest of a thousand colors, as it is known, sheds its leaves in the summer to resist the drought. Its trees bloom with an explosion of colors, and then, having shed its flowers, they await the rain. With the first rainstorm of the season, the forest recovers it shades of green.
Donkeys loaded with yam, yucca and corn travel the winding dirt roads that connect the inhabitants of the regions.
The districts of Carmen de Bolívar, San Jacinto and San Juan Nepomuceno are places that live in the songs that Colombians dance to each December during Christmas and where hammocks are woven, making the hands of their artisans famous.
The inhabitants of Montes de María live in one of the most beautiful places in Colombia, but until recently, this was a place where nobody wanted to live. The internal armed conflict devastated the region; 56 massacres occurred, displacing thousand and leaving families ruined and mourning.
With the signing of an agreement to end a 50-year long conflict in 2016, many regions in Colombia started breathing peace and prosperity. Social organizations are becoming stronger, families are returning to their farms and an incipient economy is blossoming, based on preserving the forest and using its biodiversity sustainably.
Carmen grew up in a small farm in the village of Brasilar, approximately 45 minutes away from San Jacinto. In the 1990s, she and her family fled to the district's main city fearing the conflict. Today, she leads an organization of 20 families that are back on their farms working hard to recover.
Committed to the conservation of the dry forest in San Jacinto, Carmen and her colleagues bet on technology and innovation. They are producing yam sustainably breeding seeds in-vitro and have a community farm. They dream of becoming a regional reference, showing the way to other farmers.
For years, connecting the markets of Montes de María with the nearby towns was next to impossible. The roads were not safe and residents feared traveling. Most women left the mountains and the men stayed behind to look after their lands. Many agrobiodiverse products were forgotten, vanished from the orchards and traditional dishes.
Leyla Vega is part of Asoagro, an association that groups 180 peasants from San Juan Nepomuceno who grow yam sustainably. An overproduction in 2017 caused market prices to drop, affecting the income of producers.
Leyla and the Asoagro women, guardians of the seeds and knowledge of the mountains, decided it was time to recover crops that had been lost and forgotten during the conflict. With dedication, they collected seeds for 16 varieties of beans from the dry forest, yams, coloured maize and vegetables.
They sowed the seeds with dedication, and in a short time, the markets and tables were again filled with colour.
Eduardo Rodríguez lives in the village of Brasilar, a two-hour donkey ride from the district´s main city. He sells his products in intermediary towns, despite low prices that do not compensate for his efforts to help conserve the forest.
He is a member of Asobrasilar, an organization that groups 20 producers from the dry forest of San Jacinto. They fight to stay on their land despite water scarcity and the difficulties of access to their village.
For the first time, Eduardo and other members of Asobrasilar hosted five renowned chefs from Cartagena, World Heritage City and epicentre of tourism where food takes centre stage. Some of the chefs were seeing the mountains for the very first time. El Santísimo, María, La Taquería, Carmen, Moshi, la Cevichería and Proyecto Caribe are prestigious restaurants searching for new products and new business partners.
The chefs visited some of the farms from members of the organizations that lead this initiative. They got to know firsthand the origin of the crops used in dishes they delicately prepare and met the people who grow them. They shared traditional recipes and laid the foundation of a beautiful and fair trade relationship to market the products of the dry forest with the communities of Montes de María.
Purple yam bun stuffed with wild rabbit confit and herbal emulsion, rice with duck leg confit, eggplant cat head, sweet pepper and coastal buttermilk, avocado mousse and coconut milk, pigeon peas, cocoa and peanut caramel crumble.
Flavours and colours that represent the life of the dry forest on a plate, served in the restaurants of Cartagena.
The chefs that are part of this journey have committed to new flavours and to the stories behind each product. Carmen, Leyla, Eduardo and all the sowers of these products of peace are embarking on a journey to help recover traditional crops lost during the war, while conserving the dry forests of Montes de María and improving the livelihoods of its communities.
Producto de la Paz (Product of Peace) is a UNDP Colombia initiative that connects small producers living in strategic ecosystems with entrepreneurs who value biodiversity and the cultural heritage of communities affected by the conflict.
© 2026 United Nations Development Programme
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