As the eldest of 13 children, Mirian began working at a very young age. She later got married and devoted herself to taking care of her children and husband by doing household chores. Although she never grew coca, she sold her farm products to coca growers and collectors, and was often threatened with violence from armed groups. On several occasions, she had to rebuild her home from the ashes.
In this episode of “Women Seeding Peace,” Mirian tells us how PASO Colombia’s Contingency Plan To Support Ex-coca Grower Families enabled her to receive the first formal payment of her life, as well as making a dream of her youth come true: to keep studying.
Like Mirian, women who have substituted coca crops across Colombia are creating a new life for themselves and their communities. The “Women Seeding Peace” web series collects the stories of participants of PASO Colombia’s Contingency Plan, which supports families registered in the National Comprehensive Program for the Substitution of Illicit Crops (PNIS). Today, these women are the driving forces of sustainable development in their territories.
The Contingency Plan to Support Ex-coca Grower Families is funded by the UN Multipartner Trust Fund for Sustaining Peace in Colombia, and implemented by PASO Colombia in coordination with the Presidential Office for Stabilization and Consolidation.
