During the 17th century, Spanish settlers brought African slaves who settled near the Pacific once slavery was abolished in the 1800's. These black Colombians live by fishing, agriculture, hunting and tree harvesting to meet needs and have learned to share this region with the Embera people. The following is an account of the black and indigenous people's way of life. Women dry their freshly harvested rice on the streets while they keep domestic animals at bay. Men paddle their dugout canoes to their respective plots, where they grow a variety of food crops, mostly for self consumption.
Children learn to read in a one-room schoolhouse, whose walls are decorated with forest themes.
Fresh water and good fishing are taken for granted, they have a nearly exhaustible supply. The black and Embera people are very wary of outside threats. If the environment is in a bad state, then so are we. These people define themselves through their environment and their culture is deeply linked to the meaning of nature, harmony, biodiversity, and a love of the tropical rainforests. You cannot own your Mother.