Javier Sanchez at cachifo79@hotmail.com
Maria De La Pava espejocosmicoblanco@hotmail.com
Friends of CAIS Maloka at Refugee Youth Tel 0207 793 7156
Colombia has over one million square kilometers of land, a population of 44 million inhabitants and overwhelmingly rich natural resources, flora, fauna and mineral. Yet most people in Colombia live in one of the six main crowded cities with low living standards and a large percent of those living in the country do not have education or support for local development. Colombia has one of the biggest numbers of internally displaced people in the world, due to more than 60 years of internal armed conflict. Every year thousands of people flee the countryside to settle on the outskirts of these cities, Regardless of the harsh conditions ordinary people have to endure, the Colombian culture is one of hope and celebration. People we have encountered working in grass roots organisations in Colombia do so with love, commitment and dedication. Without support from the state and with little or no resources, they achieve great results through rich processes. We want to take what we've learned in London and establish a new project: the Centro de Acción e Investigación Social (CAIS) – a living place, where people can share, learn, celebrate, plan, and act together – in other words, a Maloka (in Tukanoan, a long house)