Tayrona Indigenous Federation

Fast Facts on Tayrona
24,000 Members from the Arhuaco Indigenous Community 
Located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Coffee grown in high altitude
Confederation founded in 1978

CONFEDERACIÓN INDÍGENA TAYRONA (TAYRONA INDIGENOUS FEDERATION)

General Context of the Arhuacos Indigenous Culture
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an independent mountain group from the Andean mountain system. This Sierra rises from the sea up to 5.775 meters high and represents a unique ecosystem in the world. Sierra Nevada is presently inhabited by the indigenous communities of Arhuacos, Kogis, Arzarios and Kankuamos. Except for the Kankuamos, each community has its own language, that in turn belongs to the Chibcha linguistic family with autonomous territory¹.

The Arhuaco indigenous community is located in the Resguardo Iku (a political indigenous division), with an approximate population of 24.000 natives distributed in 35 sub-communities, south of the Cesar and Magdalena departments, between 1.000 and 2.500 metres above the sea level².   Arhuacos firmly belief in the respect for the land, its surroundings and environment, rivers sacred lagoons of the Sierra Nevada, and specially for human life. Their productive and economic system is based in agriculture, as a basic means of survival, for their own sustainability as a community. Few products are destined for sales, such as coffee that produces, each season an amount of cash money that contributes to domestic economy of the Arhuaco community.

For more than one hundred (100) years, coffee has made part of sustainability of the indigenous Arhuaco families of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It has been produced with organic methods and presently it is certified by “Ecocert” (Organic Products French certification entity).

Community Project: Confederación Indígena Tayrona (CIT)
Confederación Indígena Tayrona (CIT) is the political and administrative organization of the Arhuaco indigenous community and it is made up of 24.000 members approximately.  It was created by General Assembly dated 1978, representing all the interests of the Arhuaco people, grouping all the authorities and representatives.  This confederation has a division located in the city of Valledupar, created with the purpose of facilitating up relations in general with private and public entities.

Legal developments in terms of constitutional, domestic and international law have recognized political rights to indigenous peoples. This includes “CIT” which, due to its special character, is regulated under the lines of the Assembly of the Arhuaco group of natives.  CIT is registered under NIT: 824002015/9 in the taxation register of the DIAN (National Taxes and Customs Departament). Due to its special character, CIT does not have to file tax returns nor to register in the Chamber of Commerce.

In the year 2001, Confederación Indígena Tayrona created a committee for sales. This committee would be held responsible for management, logistics and contacts with national and international entities for coffee sales.  Confederación Indígena Tayrona holds a General Assembly once a year, to which an average of nine hundred (900) natives are present and among which you can find the indigenous authorities and those interested in proposing or defending their rights.  In this General Assembly the most important decisions for the Arhuaco Indigenous Community and their productive projects are made. The General Assembly is lead by the Board of Directors of  CIT, composed by the Cabildo Governor, Secretary General, Treasurer and Controller.

Objectives of “Confederación Indígena Tayrona”³

What is sought by selling coffee?

1. Give to the Confederación Indígena Tayrona, as legitimate representative of the insterests of the Arhuaco people, the economic capacity to commercialize their own coffee.
2. To strengthen indigenous institutionality of the Arhuaco natives, represented by the Confederación Indígena Tayrona.
3. To strengthen economic self/sustainability in the Arhuaco community as a strategy to prevent deplacement of the indigenous population of the zone.
4. To control the entering to the zone of external agents to the community that produce internal disarticulation.
5. To assure that the coffee producing Arhuaco community members receive the benefits to which an organic producer has right.
6. To refrain from cultural dissolution or crackeling of the community.
7. To create the mechanisms that permit the Arhuaco community to have better sales processes in their agricultural products.
8. To acquire knowledge based on experience of commercialization of agricultural products.

Check out more photos of our farmer partner, Tayrona Indigenous Federation. 

Certifications
Control Union Certifications Organic 2006