Ex-farc rebels dark-eco tours: an attempt of reinsertion to society
Abstract
This paper studies how after the peace agreements signed in 2016, ex FARC guerrilla members started using their jungle/nature remote places knowledge to become tour guides as a new way to make a living. With a widespread range of ecosystems, Colombia is the second most biodiverse country of the world after Brazil. From the Amazonian rainforest, Andean Mountain ranges to Pacific and Caribbean mangrove swamps, the possibilities to explore nature-based places that were previously inaccessible for tourists, researchers and even the public forces because of the conflict, became a challenging and exciting reality. The aim of this study is to analyze the recent developments of these emerging tours that attempt to provide an experience that combines dark-eco tourism perspectives and narratives, where visitors have the possibility to understand everything related to the armed conflict and difficult historical memory of violence, while also learning of the vast ecology of the areas in natural settings. The first section contextualizes the conflict with the peace agreements by analyzing emerging issues and challenges that relate to political and social discrepancies between the current government and FARC. The second section explores and relates dark-eco tourism epistemology with a tour in “La Fila” Icononzo. The third section analyses the documentary film “La Casa de la Vida” (The House of Life) that show how Colombia could benefit in a period of reconciliation from tourism initiatives. The study used a qualitative methodology based on multiple sources to collect data, the process integrates text-film analysis with ethnographic fieldwork that consisted on participatory observation and interviews.
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