In Puerto López and Cabuyaro, the cradle of fishermen and cultural wealth, the Departmental Institute of Culture of Meta (IDCM) carries out research work with the community of these two municipalities.
The objective is to build a Special Safeguarding Plan on the traditional knowledge of the areas surrounding the Meta River. But what is a Special Safeguard Plan? These instruments function as tools for the management of the intangible cultural heritage of the community.
It is traced with participatory research and is built through dialogue between carriers, managers and the community in general. Thus, it makes it possible to carry out community actions for the protection of a cultural manifestation, as has happened with Las Cuadillas de San Martín, the mining culture of Restrepo or the kitchens of Medio Ariari.
Edward Ochoa, IDCM researcher, stated that, since the last third of 2022, the Departmental Institute of Culture of Meta has been carrying out research activities in the area. Thus, it has carried out bibliographic consultations in the libraries of the region, interviews with experts and bearers, as well as community workshops for diagnosis, identifying the main risks and threats associated with artisanal fishing, and thus formulating proposals for the safeguarding of the traditional knowledge in the region.
These actions are necessary due to the constant transformations that the territory has undergone since the middle of the last century. With the overexploitation of the river banks, the extraction of gravel and the change in feeding patterns, the traditional knowledge of the communities about the management, uses and customs around the river have been put at risk.
Source: Government of Meta