The Embera Chami of the Kerakar Reservation and AGROSAVIA: An Alliance that Enabled the Plantain to Flourish in Huila

• The resilience of the Embera Chami people – Kerakar Reservation, is no longer just an idea: it has rooted and sprouted green shoots. These are Hartón plantain seeds, forged with patience and high-quality standards.
• Ancestral knowledge and science have proven that it is the most powerful seed for a more prosperous tomorrow.

 

Florencia, Caquetá. October 14, 2025. From the rugged land, which once reflected an air of oblivion and resisted bearing fruit, now sprouts hope, green and firm. In the heart of Huila, where the sun caresses the memory of the San Pedro festivities in Campoalegre and where the air carries the echo of the Sanjuaneros, the Embera Chamí indigenous community of the Kerakar Reservation, together with the scientific knowledge of Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria – AGROSAVIA, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, have woven a miracle. Where once only drought wrote its tale of dust and resignation, today, the first regrowths of Dominico Hartón plantain stand tall, victorious: a sweet triumph harvested amidst laughter and songs, like a promise kept for the land and its guardians.

Each corm planted was a whispered promise; each sprout, a vow fulfilled. The hands of the community, united with the rigor of science, transformed aridity into a paradise. It is not just a harvest being reaped; it is the future germinating. It is the tangible proof that dreams, when planted with wisdom and nurtured with collective effort, inevitably bloom.

The concept, once an enigma, today tastes like certainty and shared success. The innovation brought by AGROSAVIA not only made the land productive, but it also restored fertility to confidence. What started as a project is now a vibrant reality: proof that the alliance between ancestral knowledge and science is the most powerful seed for a prosperous tomorrow.

The ancestral knowledge of the Embera Chamí – Kerakar Reservation met AGROSAVIA’s science, forging an alliance that germinates in the soil. The result of this encounter is an innovative system, a symphony of stages orchestrated with precision: the mother orchard, the multiplication tunnels, the intensive multiplication orchard, and the conditioning nursery. This model not only optimizes resources but also redefines the speed and effectiveness of propagation directly in the field. 

Through the intensive multiplication tunnels, which are agroecological structures designed to optimize the mass propagation of plantain, their methodology is based on the selection and planting of corms weighing 700-1000 g, followed by the controlled breakage of apical dominance. This intervention inhibits central growth and enhances the synchronized emission of lateral shoots.

This system not only accelerates the process but also ensures exponential multiplication, guaranteeing a constant and scalable supply of seeds with high-quality standards (physical, physiological, genetic, and sanitary). Additionally, the integration of a specialized irrigation system maximizes water use efficiency, strengthening the crop’s resilience against water scarcity periods.

Today, the dream of the Embera Chami has taken root in the form of plantain seeds, raised with care and excellence. These embryos of life are not only ready to conquer the market, but also to dress the land with a mantle of green agriculture, the kind that nourishes both body and soul, ensuring daily food and a legacy for those who will come.