Press ‘play’ to see the original campaign video…

Mutatá-Build

A small farming community in Colombia was violently forced from their home. They are currently rebuilding in a new location. We agreed to host their GoFundMe campaign to rebuild their lives. The first $5,000 raised provided a Bay-Build frame to support their new sustainable farm. More information below!

Project Goal: $5,000 -> Amount Raised: $6,080

 
    $0
    $5,000

What We Delivered

Our Frame 3.0

Size: 16 Feet Wide by 40 Feet Long (4.8m x 12m)

Providing 1,000sf of solid roof area, this frame is designed for assembly spaces, and multi-family housing. It is fabricated in 4 hours. It can be fully assembled in 12 hours, with a crew of 8 people.

This is our fifth frame built in Colombia.

An axonometric rendering of the frame, roof, walls, and machinery that were provided.

Project Scope: Feed Facility

Why a feed facility? It is very difficult for Colombian rural farmers to obtain a return on their product that is consistent with their enormous effort. The primary challenge is the high cost of industrial animal feed. Our natural feed facility provides cheaper, healthier, and more accessible food for the raising of livestock. It also does much more:

Create jobs along the entire natural feed production supply chain.

Decrease waste by using raw materials that used to be discarded.
Provide financial independence by cutting out third-party industrial feed suppliers.
Reduce production costs by being 35% cheaper than the price of industrial feed.
Spread the wealth by increasing the profitability of projects developed by other farming communities in the region.
Improve the health of animals, which normally feed on chemically treated feed.
Reduce our carbon footprint by eliminating the import of feed from distant locations.
Encourage collaboration by acting as a central node for local farmers and other nearby ex-combatant communities.
Provide a launchpad for other humanitarian and educational efforts in the area.
Change the paradigm by encouraging a legal alternative to illicit drug production.

How It’s Going

The frame has been erected, the farming equipment has been delivered, and the the brick walls are being built. The expected completion date is September of 2023. When the facility is up and running, it will be an economic boost for the community and their aspirations of sustainable farming.

Press ‘play’ to meet the founder and learn about our past efforts in Colombia.

The Team

This project was made possible through the efforts of Bay-Build Foundation and PASO Colombia. Bay-Build Foundation works to increase global access to strong reliable shelter. PASO Colombia is using sustainable agriculture to engage reformed militia populations in Colombia.

Project Summary

A peaceful farming community in northwest Colombia had been forcibly displaced by violence. The community is made up of ‘ex-combatants’ who recently signed a peace agreement and have been reintegrated into society. Bay-Build provided infrastructure to assist with reconstruction efforts.

The community requested a Bay-Build frame to be used for a sustainable animal feed facility. The success of this project will lead not just to stronger community foundations, but will promote a cleaner and more profitable economy in the greater farming community.

Fundraising for the project was a collaborative effort between Bay-Build and the community members. The fundraising process was carried out with online marketing and social media strategies produced and designed by the community themselves.

For more information on this project, and the community, please read below.

**Left:** Mutata’s location in Northwestern Colombia.
**Right:** A photo of the encampment at Mutatá. December, 2020.

Location: Mutatá

This project is located in the remote jungle region of Mutatá, Colombia. Mutatá is the new home for this community that was forced to relocate in 2020.

Previously, this community was located in Ituango, Colombia. For 3 years they successfully built their village, and their cooperative, in association with the local community. Unfortunately, they were plagued by militia violence that remained in their area. After constant harassment, including the murder of 12 of its people; the community decided to relocate.

Over 150 families have now settled in Mutatá, and are trying to rebuild their lives.

**Left:** A sample of the Paramillo product.
**Right:** A Paramillo member.

Client: Paramillo

Paramillo is a farming cooperative that was founded by ‘ex combatants’. These ex combatants were once members of the FARC rebel group. In 2016, they ended a decades-long war by laying down their weapons, and agreeing to a peaceful life of sustainable farming.

In their original settlement in the municipality of Ituango they developed their brand with the local coffee growers, helping them to get a better price for their product. Paramillo coffee is named for the mountain range that these farmers call their home. Through Paramillo they pay homage to their heritage, and work towards redefining a region of Colombia that has been marred by violence.

Displaced by ongoing violence they now have to look for new sources of income to rebuild their lives, expanding the Paramillo brand with new products like honey, cacao, chickens and fish. In Mutatá, they are now trying to develop an animal feed factory to reduce breeding costs for them and the surrounding communities.

Instagram: @Somos.Paramillo

**Left:** Onsite instruction at a local farm.
**Right:** César Quintero of PASO Colombia.

Local Partner: PASO Colombia

PASO Colombia mobilizes the local knowledge and resources of remote rural communities, by connecting them to national and international markets.

In the five years since the formalization of the 2016 Colombia Peace Agreement, PASO Colombia has built 22 sustainable farms, known as Rural Alternative Schools, throughout the parts of Colombia most affected by armed conflict.

By working hand-in-hand with communities who are active participants in the sustainable development of their own territories, PASO Colombia is turning the traditional logic of aid on its head in rural Colombia.

PASO Colombia is represented by Fernando Pieschacon and César Quintero.

Website: www.pasocolombia.org

Instagram: @PASO.Colombia