We caught up with the people behind Colombia’s El Silencio Reserve – the fishermen, forest rangers, coordinators, and community members who bring this place to life. Credit: Fundación Biodiversa Colombia (FBC)
“I came here because I’m better off than down there in the wetland,” says José Cruz, who once earned his living as a fisherman. “Down there, even my mattress got wet. But here,” he sweeps a hand across the reserve where he now works as FBC’s tractor driver, “I don’t get wet.” He chuckles wryly, “I’m better, fresher, and I want to stay here all my life.”
Since launching our autumn appeal on 1st October, we’ve shared stories highlighting the exceptional wildlife of the El Silencio Reserve, the urgent threats they face, and how you can help.
But today, we want to focus on the people who call this place home: the forest rangers, coordinators, community members, nursery workers, and fishermen, to understand what this place means to them.
El Silencio: A home, place of science, and site of opportunity
The El Silencio Reserve may be one place, but it represents many different things for the people here.
For fisherman Enrique Mahecha, who has lived here for 15 years, it is home and family. “I value this place very much because, in one way or another, I raised my children here and gave them an education,” he tells us. “The story of being able to raise your children in this region – that’s something to be proud of.”
The joy of raising children here is also shared by Fundación Biodiversa Colombia (FBC) reserve ranger Noel Torres, who told us that each day after work, he teaches his children about the wildlife here, taking them on walks through the reserve.
“They have already seen the Curassow,” he exclaims proudly. “The Jaguar – not in person yet. But my oldest daughter and the second one understand a lot, because I’ve taught them while working here.”
Reserve ranger Noel Torres enjoys his life in the reserve, travelling on horseback and working closely with the rest of the FBC team. Outside work, he teaches his children about the importance of protecting the reserve’s wildlife. Credit: FBC
This landscape is also seen as a place of learning by FBC’s Regional Environmental Leader Julio Marín. He envisions a day when students will travel from far and wide to learn about its wildlife.
“[My hope is for El Silencio to] become like a school, a university”, he explains. “For example, creating a lab to extract natural medicines and latex from medicinal trees, and studying seeds in depth. Whether in the short, medium, or long term, I imagine this becoming a laboratory where national and international visitors come to learn. A kind of university – hands-on, in the mud – studying and practicing.”
FBC’s Regional Environmental Leader Julio Marín pictures a day when El Silencio Reserve will become a centre for learning. Credit: FBC
We felt a sense of the reserve’s uniqueness from everyone we spoke to and a real sense of why protecting it now is so important.
“You don’t see this very often. In other places, people destroy, destroy, destroy. But now, with this reserve, there’s an opportunity to protect the animals, the trees, and everything else”. José Cruz, FBC’s tractor driver.
Paths to El Silencio
Everyone we spoke to came to El Silencio for different reasons. For FBC’s Reserve Coordinator Santiago Rosado, it was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
“My family is a farming family, and from a young age I’ve always loved animals. I was always fascinated by Pokémon, too, and little things like that shape children for the future, don’t they? Since I was very young, I’ve had a particular affinity with nature and the countryside.”
This love for nature did not leave him. As a biology student, Santiago dreamed of travelling somewhere rich in wildlife. “I went to talk to one of my professors… and he told me that some years back, he and some friends had created a Foundation… and that if I wanted to go there, the doors were open.”
From a young age, Santiago had a deep love for nature. At El Silencio Reserve, he found his home. Credit: FBC
That first journey changed everything. Five years on, Santiago now leads biodiversity surveys, ecological restoration, and community engagement at El Silencio.
“What I like most is that it’s meaningful work. We’re not doing it to get rich or to fill our pockets, but rather to conserve a unique, magical, and highly threatened place… It’s about protecting something truly valuable.” Santiago Rosado, FBC’s Reserve Coordinator.
For Santiago, pictured here at the very left, working and living in a place like El Silencio was a lifelong dream. Credit: FBC
His story is echoed by Sandra Rodríguez, who came to the reserve with her partner Felipe after leaving cattle ranching.
“At first it was a bit complicated,” she explains, “since I was used to working in cattle ranching. But I’ve always liked the idea of caring for the environment, for the trees, and that’s how I got involved with the reserve.”
Sandra and her husband Felipe came to the reserve after being invited here by Julio Marín-Cruz. Credit: FBC
Sandra now works in the tree nursery, raising young seedlings for planting. She is joined by Yaneixy Rivera, who describes this process “We plant out at around 6:00am or 5:00pm, when the sun isn’t too strong, so the plants have a better chance of taking root.”
Building the future of El Silencio
Everyone we spoke to highlighted the positive impact of the El Silencio Reserve.
“Many species were disappearing – the Jaguar, spider monkeys – you no longer saw them. But with the reserves… they are coming back. Species that were on the verge of disappearing are being seen again.” Noel Torres, Reserve Ranger
At its heart, conservation is about protecting something for the future, for the years to come. This does not happen overnight but through the collective action of many people. Fishermen, nursery workers, reserve coordinators, and rangers.
This is perhaps summed up best by Santiago.
“None of us is permanent in that place; we are just a small page in its history. But… what we’re doing now is building the future of El Silencio, which will likely be something truly spectacular.” Santiago Rosado, Reserve Coordinator
Help us build this future together.
Support our autumn appeal now before it is too late.
