In June 2025, LAND-at-scale (LAS) partners from across the globe gathered in Colombia for a powerful three-day exchange, blending technical dialogue on land governance with immersive learning in the ancestral Arhuaco territory of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This summary captures key insights from the exchange, focusing on Indigenous stewardship, intercultural governance, participatory tools, environmental recovery, and the power of global connection.
The Spiritual and Territorial Foundations of Arhuaco Stewardship
The LAND-at-scale Exchange opened with a spiritual welcome from the Arhuaco community in Katanzama, who described their territory as the “Heart of the World.” As Vicentique Santiago Salabata stated, “It is a real honor for us to have you here. Today we unite the thoughts of all the peoples, in honor of our elders.”
The Mamos (traditional authorities) shared their worldview, rooted in balance with nature and ancestral obligations. “The land is an altar,” one elder said. “It covers us today so that we all become part of this system.” Another emphasized, “We as Guaco people, we have been here for thousands of years. We are the original people of the land. That is why there is ancestral knowledge.”
Participants learned how land recovery for the Arhuaco involves both legal processes and spiritual responsibility. One Arhuaco representative said: “The recovery of territory implies a responsibility in the invisible world. That is what allows us to have harmony in nature.”
Learning from the Arhuaco Experience: A Model for the World
Andrés Bernal of Connexion described the importance of this setting: “We’re in the fourth learning exchange, and we’re fortunate that it is in Colombia—and doubly fortunate to be in Santa Marta with the Arhuaco.”
He reminded participants that the LAS program is active in 12 countries—Burundi, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Mozambique, Rwanda, Palestine, Somalia, Uganda, Colombia and more—and each context is different. But seeing the Arhuaco approach to land and life gave participants an example of deep-rooted governance.
“The Arhuaco do not see land as a commodity,” one participant later said. “They see it as life. That reframes everything.”
Participatory Mapping and Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration
A key learning element was how communities themselves are leading technical land administration. In a session with Kadaster International, participants learned how Arhuaco land teams use sub-meter-accuracy GPS tools and field maps to gather spatial data. Juan and Hugo, from the community mapping team, explained how their work evolved: “At first we focused on field data collection, but now we’ve moved to working in the office—editing data, making maps, and sharing results.”
The goal is to incorporate unregistered plots into the Arhuaco reserve through legal purchases and formal recognition. “These plots are already occupied by us,” one community member said, pointing at a map, “but they’re not yet legally incorporated. We want to expand the reserve and legally unify what is already lived reality.”
The effort is grounded in a localized version of the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), adapted specifically for Indigenous territories, referred to as Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration (FfPLA).
Intercultural Land Governance: Colombia’s National Challenge
The Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) presented Colombia’s broader land administration context. “Colombia is intercultural,” one IGAC representative said. “But that word can’t just be a slogan. We must turn it into real dialogue.”
He continued: “Today, there are 885 Indigenous reserves in Colombia, covering about 35 million hectares—almost 35% of the country. Another 6 million hectares belong to Afro-descendant communities. If we don’t build an intercultural cadastre, we will never finish the job.”
He reminded the audience that doing cadastre work in Colombia is hard. “The Sierra Nevada is beautiful and magical, but also very mountainous. Some areas get rain 99% of the year. Others are deep in the Amazon or Orinoquia. We need approaches that reflect these realities.”
He concluded with a stark fact: “In 2022, we only had reliable data on 6% of Colombia’s land.”
Also, land is a key pillar in the Peace Agreement signed in 2016. The agreement aimed to formalize land ownership for millions of Colombians and adjudicate land to new beneficiaries. Thus, a multipurpose cadastre is also understood as part of the peace building efforts.
Community Innovation and Environmental Restoration
A highlight of the exchange was the visit to Katanzama, a community connecting the mountain to the sea. This visit demonstrated the importance between land tenure, environmental protection, and developing a livelihood from sustainable production. A striking moment was the presentation on coffee production in Gunmaku up in the mountains. Producer Jorge Torres explained the Arhuaco philosophy behind it: “We produce less, but we produce with quality and harmony. Our coffee comes from our land and our way of life.”
Participants also viewed satellite imagery from Tropenbos, showing forest recovery between 1973 and 2025. Community leaders explained how they had reforested degraded areas by leaving 80% of reclaimed land for nature. “Our law,” one said, “is not only legal. It is ancestral. We recover land to restore its spirit.”
Onassis, a local school director, added, “Environmental education is not just about teaching facts. It’s about continuing our traditions and responsibilities. The children learn that from the Mamos (spiritual leaders).”
A Global Gathering of Shared Challenges
Each LAS country team brought stories of their own. In facilitated sessions, participants discussed how the lessons from Colombia applied in places like Somalia, Mozambique, Uganda, and Palestine. Many emphasized how inspiring it was to see the spiritual, legal, ecological, and practical dimensions of land governance come together.
Some of the key learning reflections included:
- The critical role of community land surveyors;
- The importance of aligning formal legal frameworks with customary law;.
- The need to respect timeframes, and avoid pushing for “quick wins”;
- Recognizing land as a source of identity and basis for peace.
Conclusion: Strengthening the Global LAS Community
The LAND-at-scale Exchange in Colombia offered not only learning—but connection. It reminded all participants that land is never just a technical issue. As one speaker said, “The land covers us all. And when we listen to it, we begin to understand our place in the world.”
By grounding global exchange in the wisdom and practice of the Arhuaco people, the gathering achieved its goal: learning from the local to transform the global.
The LAND-at-scale programme is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and managed by the Netherlands Enterprise & Development Agency (RVO). Want to learn more about the programme? Go to LAND-at-scale | Land Portal or follow on LinkedIn
This blog post was produced with the assistance of AI. The content has been reviewed by the LAND-at-scale team as well as members of the Land Portal team who attended the event.