We belong to nature, we are guided by our k’sxa’w (elder creators of the universe), we were sent by our creators to live as brothers (pxyak pxyak fxi’zewa’) fulfilling the natural norms of our mother earth (kxtey yuuna). Our people are guided by spirituality, by the life advice left to us by the Ne’j (grandparents, creators of the universe), which is found in the voices of the wind, of the mountains, the color of the rainbow, the feeling from the heart, as life advice left by the elders since the beginning of time. It is our own language as a means of communicating with our past and future, cultural and spiritual values, it is the particular way in which we feel and live in harmony and balance.

The Indigenous Peoples are distributed throughout the municipality of Caldono, but their main location is determined by their Ancestral Territory, bordered by the Ovejas River basin and the intersection with the Chindaco River, in a straight line northward until reaching the Mondomo River. From there, it borders other municipalities with Indigenous populations, such as Santander de Quilichao, Jambaló, and Silvia.

The Kweth Kina Indigenous Reserve belongs to the Sat’h Tama Kiwe area of ​​the Caldono Municipality, located in the northeast of the department of Cauca. They are part of the Nasa people, who have inhabited this territory since before the colonial era.

In addition to celebrating saakhelu (awakening of the seeds), cxaapuç (offerings to the deceased), uka fxizenxi (refreshing of the symbols of authority), and ipx fxi’zenxi (refreshing of the fire), the community reawakens other rituals that had been forgotten. The ritual of welcoming the sun celebrated on June 21st (sek buy), the ritual of the earth (khutx wahwa), and the ritual of water (Nus Pa’yanxi) add up to seven collective rituals in compliance with the Kxtey Kxtey Yuunxi law of origin. This ritual has provided political guidelines from within its own structure, with a Nasa-based system of government, with the application of justice from a spiritual perspective.

The native language is preserved, as are the original seeds of corn, cassava, arracacha, potato, and coca, among others. Arts such as weaving, music, and traditional dance are practiced, in addition to experiencing ritual and spirituality. Families have surnames that reflect their relationships with natural beings, and villages bear names that refer to their worldview.

Currently, due to the scarcity of land for farming, many of the new families have moved to other areas in search of economic opportunities in nearby cities such as Popayán or Cali. Men work as construction workers, and women work as domestic workers in family homes. Others have moved to the coffee-growing regions of Huila, Tolima, and Antioquia as coffee pickers. Recently, many young people have moved to coca-growing areas to harvest their crops as a means of support, lacking economic alternatives within their own territories.

There is also a threat of recruitment by legal and illegal armed groups among young people, as this is another alternative to escape the economic conditions experienced in the community. Very few young people have the opportunity to study, become professionals, and hold a position within their own territory.

Regarding lands and their ownership, in the Las Mercedes reservation, due to the needs of some community members, the process of liberation from Mother Earth began in 2002, then in 2005 the liberation began in minga with the entire Sat Tama area and the northern zone in the El Japio hacienda in Caloto, Cauca, where resistance lasted three months, after strong acts of repression by the government with its public force, where a large number of community members were injured and others were disabled for life, plus a community member from the Caldono reservation died (Belisario Camayo Guetoto (q.e.p.d), an agreement was reached that has not yet been fulfilled, subsequently continued with sporadic mingas, which are still being held to this day, demanding from the National Government the right to the return of ancestral territories.