Last Updated on March 28, 2016
The village of Tamaquito lies in the forests of Colombia. Here, nature provides the people with everything they need. But the Wayúu community’s way of life is being destroyed by the vast and rapidly growing El Cerrejón coal mine. Determined to save his community from forced displacement, young and charismatic leader Jairo Fuentes sets out to negotiate with the mine’s operators. They’re backed by powerful global resources companies such as Glencore, Anglo American and BHP Billiton, and communicating with their representatives isn’t easy. The villagers are promised the blessings of progress, but the Wayúu place no value on modern, electrified houses – on the so-called better life. Instead, they embark on a fight to save their life in the forest, which soon becomes a fight to survive.
La Buena Vida – The Good Life is the story of the Wayúu community, told against a global backdrop of rising energy consumption being driven by the pursuit of growth and affluence.
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
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