Our Work

Projects that transform through culture

At Fundación Marimbea we work alongside Afro-Colombian communities of the Pacific to strengthen intangible cultural heritage, build capacities and economic opportunities, and connect culture with peacebuilding, education, and biodiversity conservation.

Our methodology puts communities and knowledge holders at the center of the process, weaving together music, dance, cooking, traditional practices, audiovisual creation, and experiential learning.

80+: Cultural leaders
20+: Organizations
1,500+: Participants

Below we present four projects that reflect our experience in cultural heritage, community strengthening, regenerative tourism, education, and cultural circulation.

Current work

Ongoing lines of work

These programs are currently active. Contributions from individuals and organizations help sustain their work and reach more communities.

Ongoing

2022 – ongoing

Marimbea All Stars – Young Talent from Colombia’s Pacific

Funding organization: Fundación Marimbea and international partners
Field of work: International circulation · Artistic collaboration · Cultural exchange
Territory: Colombia, Europe, Asia and the Americas

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Description

An artistic circulation platform bringing together young musicians from different parts of Colombia’s Pacific region. Through international tours, concerts, workshops and collaborations, Marimbea All Stars connects the region’s traditional music with new audiences, venues and creators around the world.

Impact achieved

The ensemble has brought the music of Colombia’s Pacific to festivals, embassies, conservatories and cultural venues in more than twelve countries, expanding opportunities for mobility, artistic exchange and professional development for young Afro-Colombian musicians.

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Project testimonials and images

Ongoing

2024 – ongoing

Reencarnación del Pacífico

Funding organization: Fundación Marimbea
Field of work: Music education · Intergenerational transmission · Cultural learning
Territory: Quiroga and Joanico, rural Guapi, Cauca

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Description

A program strengthening community music schools and youth ensembles that currently reaches more than 100 children and young people in Quiroga and Joanico. These rural communities are located up to one hour by boat from the town of Guapi. Through training in marimba de chonta, traditional singing, bombo and cununo drums, the program supports the living transmission of the musical traditions of Colombia’s Pacific.

Impact achieved

The program helps younger generations develop artistic skills, recognize themselves as custodians of a living heritage and strengthen their sense of identity and belonging. It also supports the intergenerational continuity of musical practices that remain essential to the cultural life of their communities.

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Ongoing

August 2026 – ongoing

Support for Knowledge Bearers Affected by the 10 August Earthquake

Funding organization: Fundación Marimbea, through contributions from individuals and organizations
Field of work: Community emergency response · Family wellbeing · Cultural heritage safeguarding
Territory: Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, and Guapi, Cauca

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Description

An emergency response initiative directing contributions to musicians, cultural knowledge bearers and their families whose homes and living conditions were affected by the earthquake of 10 August 2025. It seeks to help restore safe living spaces while protecting the conditions that allow traditional cultural practices and knowledge to continue.

Impact achieved

The initiative currently supports two priority cases: Jaritza Narváez, a percussionist from Buenaventura whose family home—the only inheritance shared with her younger brother following the recent loss of their parents—was destroyed; and the Torres family, a multigenerational family of traditional musicians from Guapi whose home sustained severe damage. The response supports their recovery while helping ensure that the emergency does not interrupt their artistic lives or the transmission of their knowledge.

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Past projects

2025

Camino al Vean Ve! – Arrullando y Compartiendo Saberes

Funding organization: Ministerio de las Culturas de Colombia and Fondo Mixto de Cultura de Nariño
Field of work: Artistic training · Cultural circulation · Knowledge transmission · Cultural exchange
Territory: Bogotá, Guapi, and Timbiquí

Description

More than 350 people participated in workshops, concerts, and gatherings to share and strengthen the traditional music of Colombia’s Pacific region.

This project brought together musicians, cultural organizers, and communities, strengthened their capacities, and contributed to knowledge transmission and the creation of new connections between territories.

Impact achieved

The project carried out training and cultural exchange activities in three territories—Bogotá, Guapi, and Timbiquí—strengthening the community festival Vean Ve! and creating spaces for exchange among musicians, young people, and tradition bearers. Available documentation does not establish a consolidated figure for participants or workshops, so we recommend not publishing a beneficiary figure until the project's closing data is available.

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2023–2024

Retiro Marimbea Guapi – El Canto de los Pájaros

Funding organization: Destino Naturaleza – USAID
Field of work: Biodiversity · Regenerative tourism · Intangible cultural heritage · Environmental education · Community strengthening
Territories: Guapi, Joanico, and Quiroga, Cauca

Description

A regenerative tourism project designed to connect two of Guapi's main biocultural assets: its Afro-Colombian cultural heritage and its biodiversity. The initiative brought together community organizations around tourism, music, and traditional practices with bird conservation actions and local capacity building.

The project was structured around three components—community development, biodiversity conservation, and meaningful tourism experiences—complemented by cross-cutting actions in promotion, sales, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Impact achieved

The project involved 6 local organizations and built capacities for designing regenerative tourism experiences. It included the design and implementation of a community bird-monitoring protocol, the participatory construction of a conservation agreement, knowledge-transmission processes for children and young people, and pedagogical and audiovisual tools to promote conservation. It also included the implementation of 2 Marimbea retreats in Guapi, linking conservation, culture, and local economic opportunities.

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2020–2023

Retiros Marimbea – Territorios de Oportunidad

Funding organization: Programa Territorios de Oportunidad – USAID
Field of work: Intangible cultural heritage · Cultural and community tourism · Community strengthening · Income generation
Territories: Tumaco, Nariño

Description

Two projects developed with USAID's Programa Territorios de Oportunidad helped consolidate the Retiros Marimbea model in rural Tumaco. Through immersive experiences, the project brought together community organizations, artists, and knowledge holders around music, dance, traditional cooking, instrument making, cultural practices, and the territory's natural heritage.

The model combined experiential learning, community tourism, and the strengthening of cultural economies, linking local value chains with national and international visitors.

Impact achieved

Seven cultural retreats were held in Tumaco, integrating nature tourism and cultural heritage. The process helped generate income for Afro-descendant cultural actors, strengthened the territory's national and international visibility, and consolidated a model in which culture is positioned as an alternative for local economic development. Institutional documentation further notes that the projects exceeded the goals set with the funder.

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2020–2021

Vibra Pacífico

Funding organization: Programa Territorios de Oportunidad – USAID
Field of work: Education and training · Intangible cultural heritage · Intergenerational knowledge transmission · Digital circulation
Territories: Tumaco and Barbacoas, Nariño; Guapi and Timbiquí, Cauca / virtual implementation

Description

Vibra Pacífico was born during the pandemic as a strategy to keep the transmission of the Colombian Pacific's cultural knowledge active and to generate alternative income for its bearers. The initiative moved knowledge traditionally transmitted in person into the digital realm, with the territory's knowledge holders and artists as the protagonists of the pedagogical and audiovisual processes.

Content and courses were developed around expressions such as music, dance, traditional cooking, and crafts, supported by methodologies and teaching materials adapted to virtual settings.

Impact achieved

The project produced 4 virtual courses, designed to generate income for cultural practitioners and expand access to knowledge of the Colombian Pacific. The process included pedagogical development and activities in the PDET municipalities of Guapi, Timbiquí, Tumaco, and Barbacoas, strengthening digital circulation and the transmission of cultural knowledge beyond territorial borders.

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Culture, territory, and opportunities

These projects reflect a model of intervention that understands intangible cultural heritage as an asset for territorial development. Fundación Marimbea works from a community-led approach, strengthening local capacities, promoting the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, generating economic opportunities, and building networks among communities, organizations, and national and international partners.

Our mission is to contribute to the well-being and sustainable development of Afro-Colombian communities in the southern Pacific, strengthening cultural leaders as agents of change and promoting territories of peace, equity, and cultural diversity.