Colombia's small-scale traditional miners are fighting for their piece of the recent gold mining boom as large multinational companies have picked up most of the country's exploration rights.
The Dark Side of Colombia’s Goldrush
Published November 1, 2011
With sky-rocketing gold prices, gold fever has hit Colombia, a country rich in mineral deposits, and a torrent of mining companies is sweeping across the country. But many of the areas they want to mine are the same ones where traditional miners have been working for generations. In La Toma, an Afro-Colombian community in southwestern Colombia, the struggle to maintain this traditional livelihood is turning out to be a dangerous undertaking.
Women, War & Peace visited La Toma for the film The War We Are Living, which follows two extraordinary Afro-Colombian women fighting to hold onto the gold-rich land that has sustained their community for centuries. Filming ended in August 2010. Colombia-based reporter Nadja Drost returned to La Toma recently to bring you this update. Support for this report was provided by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.
Join the Pulitzer Center for a film screening and discussion on the impact of natural resource extraction on the environment, indigenous populations, public health and corporate responsibility.
Pulitzer Center grantee Nadja Drost reports on the struggles gold miners face in Colombia's La Toma community.
Gateways
Grantee
Nadja Drost is a Canadian multimedia reporter based in Bogotá, Colombia, where she is a correspondent for GlobalPost. She contributes to Maclean’s Magazine, The Globe and Mail,...
