Help Elder Berito Kuwaru'wa Rebuild the U'wa Ceremonial House

Elder Berito Kuwaru’wa is one of the most widely known spiritual and cultural leaders of the U’wa people of Colombia. For decades, he has helped defend U’wa territory, protect ancestral teachings, and represent the concerns of his people beyond their homeland.

Now, Berito and his family have asked the Indigenous Solidarity Fund for help.

Recent wind storms destroyed a ceremonial house and communal kitchen used by Berito and members of the U’wa community for prayer, ceremony, song, dance, shared meals, and the passing of knowledge between generations.

The Indigenous Solidarity Fund is seeking to raise 50,000,000 Colombian pesos, approximately $15,000 USD, to rebuild these spaces in U’wa territory in Boyacá, Colombia. Donations will support construction materials, transportation, local labor, and the other costs required to complete the reconstruction.

Berito’s experience with outside institutions began when he was very young. As a child, he was taken to a Catholic mission, separated from his family, taught Spanish, and given the name Roberto Cobaría. His mother later brought him home. This experience became the foundation of his lifelong effort to protect U’wa identity and resist outside efforts to control U’wa land and culture.

As conflict over oil exploration intensified in the 1990s, Berito emerged as one of the principal U’wa voices communicating with governments, corporations, courts, human rights organizations, and international supporters.

He traveled outside Colombia to explain the U’wa position directly, including meetings in the United States with representatives of Occidental Petroleum. His message was rooted in a fundamental principle: U’wa territory could not be separated from U’wa spiritual life or treated simply as an economic resource.

The conflict eventually drew international attention. The U’wa brought their concerns before Colombian courts and the Inter-American human rights system, while international institutions became involved in efforts to address the dispute over oil development in their ancestral territory.

Berito also endured direct threats and violence because of his leadership. In the late 1990s, armed men abducted and assaulted him after he refused pressure to authorize activities affecting U’wa territory. His work continued.

In 1998, Berito received the Goldman Environmental Prize for his leadership in the defense of U’wa land and the resistance to oil exploration in ancestral territory.

That history gives particular meaning to the rebuilding taking place today.

The ceremonial house and kitchen are part of the everyday infrastructure through which U’wa cultural life continues. They are places where families gather, elders teach, ceremonies are held, meals are prepared, and relationships between generations are maintained.

Rebuilding them is therefore more than replacing damaged structures. It is a practical act of supporting the continuation of U’wa cultural and spiritual life in the territory where those traditions belong.

Please consider contributing to the reconstruction and sharing this campaign with others who may wish to support Berito, his family, and the U’wa community.

Thank you for your help and generosity.