La Costanza: Urban Agroecology in a quickly urbanizing place
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48 million people live in Colombia nowadays. During the last 60 years of internal conflict, the country urbanized. According to the World Bank stats, less than 24% of the Colombian population lives in rural areas. About the 30 largest cities concentrate more than 70% of the population.
The competition for land, seeds and agriculture has been a constant struggle after colonisation. Being indigenous, black and women you are doubly disadvantaged in the struggle to escape from poverty. Colombia's concentrations of wealth and inequality are one of the biggest at global level.
Colombia has had many expressions of violence in her history. Between 1948 and 1957 it had what we call the Colombia Violence, where more than 300 thousands Colombians were killed. In the 1960s, because of the conflicts for land Colombia had a 60 year conflict, having as main characters the Colombian government (Colombian army), several guerrilla groups (FARC, ELN, EPL, M-19), narcotic groups (Medellín cartel, Cali cartel), paramilitary groups and delinquency groups. This conflict has reinforced the urbanization and the competition for resources, and have opened the country to 'free trade', creating conditions for mining, agro-industry and export of commodities. Though there is an important peace process between the FARC guerrilla (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the government. The paramilitaries groups, enforced by the most powerful groups, continue to exist.