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Afo-Colombian, indigenous Embera, and mestizos: Choco and Riseralda, Colombia (anthropologist Cody Ross) |
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cat in Chambaku, Choco, 2018 |
preparing plantains for cooking in an Embera household at “Km 6”, a new settlement of displaced Embera located 6 kilometers from Bahia Solana, Choco, 2019 |
the daily task of clearing the forest garden, clearing the brush around a plantain tree in the background, lulo fruit in the foreground at Km 6, Choco, 2019
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Afro-Colombian adolescent carrying wood along the board walks of Chambaku at high tide, men heading out for fishing in the background, Choco, 2018 |
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freshwater Langostinos, gathered from the river passing Km 6, Choco 2019
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stilt houses at high tide, fishing village and eco-tourist location of Valle, Choco, 2019
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 weaving a basket during a futbol game, Km 6, Choco, 2019 |
 stirring panela (concentrated sugar cane juice) during the process of making the solid disks of panela which are sold in the markets. Where sugar is usually an industrial process, panela is primarily done by small artisinal operations. the sugar cane is first pressed by machine and then the sugar cane juice is boiled down until it has thickened. It is then poured into these wooded trays where it is stirred to cool, wgich then thickens it more before scooping it into the molds where it finally hardens. Santa Cecila, Riseralda 2019 |
 socializing at high tide, Chambaku, Choco 2018 |
The tuna is caught by local fishermen from Bahia sSolan and neighboring pueblos like Chambaku and Huina. These tuna fillets will be frozen and shipped for sale in Medellin. |
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local fish (tuna) processing from the locally controlled artisinal fishery, Bahia Solano, Choco 2018 Colombia has an estimated 6 to 10 million people who have been displaced internally due to the violence there, fueled by politics, the drug economy, and illegal gold mining with dozens of armed organizations fighting for control of lucrative territories: paramilitaries, guerrillas, and more straightforward drug cartels. That is more people than have been displaced during the recent conflicts in Syria. Chocó is one of the centers of this violent displacement. It is also historically the center of Afro-Colombian community, where many Africans escaped slavery and ran to in order to make a living in collective land-groups. About 80% of Chocó is of African descent with most of the rest being indigenous Emberá. Nearby Riseralda in the mountains has a similar racial mix, though with a larger mestizo population. Like other rural areas of Colombia, it has also been heavily affected by the violence and many there also have histories of displacement.
Cody Ross started ongoing field research in Choco and Riseralda in 2012, working with local Emberá and Afro-Colombian communities. people make their livelihoods with forest gardens, with fishing on the coast and with artisinal gold panning in the mountains. He has also recently started working with mestiso communities in Riseralda, making their living with sugar cane and artisinal coffee operations. Most everyone he has worked with has an experience of being displaced by the violence there, some decades ago and others in the last few years. We are working together on a film juxtaposing daily life in these communities with people’s recounted stories of displacement, violence, and rebuilding of life.