This medicinal plant from the Amazon has been key to the economic recovery of more than 500 victim families in the Charta municipality, who previously based their livelihood on illicit crops.

By: Miguel Alcala

The triple Amazon border between Colombia, Brazil and Peru has been a place where the ancient seed, sacha inchi, has been worked with as a miraculous product to treat different digestive, lumbar and cardiovascular diseases. That is why it has been called by its growers as the revelation plant worldwide.

But the sacha inchi is not only special for its properties. It has changed the lives of hundreds of victim families residing in the Charta municipality, Santander, who have transformed their lands, where there were only illicit crops, to make way for the sowing of this millenary seed considered as a phenomenon in natural medicine.

One of those victims is Vicente Lopez, a simple, charismatic man, and a tireless entrepreneur. Vicente's eyes light up when he talks about his micro-business called “Sainsa”, an initiative that has created natural products based on sacha inchi, which are used to fight diseases and lessen health problems such as high triglycerides and digestive reflux.

“Sainsa was born in 2017, first, as an idea of ​​alternative nutrition in our territory, but also as a life opportunity for victim families who, for many years, worked with illegal crops. Through Sainsa, we want to help the economic projection of our municipality and region.”

Vicente's story hasn’t been easy at all. More than 30 years ago, he lost his brother Julio Cesar, who disappeared without a trace; he did leave behind a great void in Vicente and in his entire family.

“My brother Julio Cesar left and never came back, he left everything at home. The illegal armed groups’ influence wasn’t a secret for anyone in Charta, and we believe his disappearance had something to do with them. We have been looking for my brother for more than 30 years, and even though we have knocked every door, it has been in vain,” he emphasizes.

But his brother’s disappearance has been one of Vicente's great motivations to keep going and make “Sainsa” a strong option in complementary and natural food.

“Our goal with Sainsa is to bring together more than 2,000 victim families from Santander, Boyaca and Norte de Santander, so we can unite and strengthen this great project, not only as a food proposal, but also as an economic option for the victims of these three departments,” he says.

Vicente’s objectives go along with Charta families’ objectives, and these are boundless. One of the main goals is to create a women association that, through sacha inchi, leads a business initiative of natural cosmetics made from this ancient plant.

Environmental responsibility is included in this ambitious project, and for this, Vicente hopes that through the association there can be a strengthening of the defense group for the flora and fauna of the area where this miraculous seed is grown, guaranteeing the conservation of biodiversity, not only for the proper growing process, but also for the environment preservation of these communities.

Vicente is a dreamer, but his feet are on the ground, and he works every day to achieve his goals. “Sainsa” is here to stay. It is an opportunity to consume natural and beneficial health products, and it is also an economic miracle for thousands of victims who have seen the armed conflict as the only thing that grew on their lands. Today, that reality changed through sacha inchi.

(End/MAS/COG/RAM)