Intro
Forests
Mission
Intro
Forests
Mission

Forest 01

The heart of

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

the world

Welcome to Colombia. I’m Sierra but the Indigenous People call me the Heart of the World. I like that.

Scientists refer to me as one of the most irreplaceable places on Earth. See, I am a place like no other. I am the steepest coastal ascent from tropical reefs through sandy beaches to snow-capped mountains.

In a single hectare I house 650 tree species. Think of me as a microcosm of life.

Sounds dreamy. But over the past 50 years, a quarter of ancestral lands have been lost to illegal squatters and extractive industries - leaving me broken. The threat to all life in the forest has never been greater.

However, I’ve been under the protection and stewardship of indigenous communities for longer than anyone can remember. They’ve really helped me blossom.

Indigenous folk still remember.
Our lives are inseparable.

Together, we protect 80% of all biodiversity.
All the bird people, cat people, fish, insect, bacteria and plant people that stitch together life.

Forest

Forest + Indigenous

Forest + Indigenous = Life

Introducing the Arhuacos

Natural born protectors

Our bond with the Sierra and the Forest runs deep

For us Arhuaco, it’s more than just our home. Our worldview embodies a central idea: the Sierra Nevada is sacred ground, the heart of the world. Protecting her is woven into our lives and the very fabric of our culture. Even our attire resembles the Sierra: white hats like snow caps and long flowing river-like hair.

For us, this land is a living person complete with feet, hair, veins, and organs. Thoughts are locked in her snow and ice. Meltwater from the glaciers is lifeblood. Not only ours, but for tens of millions of Colombians in the plains who depend on it too.

We resisted and survived the different waves of colonisation (legal and illegal), we warned about the negative impacts of mining, we fought against massive deforestation.
Now we ask your support to do what we have always done, protect and care for the forests that should be sacred to all of us.

Restoring the world’s essential forests together with Indigenous guardians.

Intro
Forests
Mission
SDG House
Mauritskade 64
1092 AD Amsterdam
info@sacredforests.earth
CoC Amsterdam: 86674978