Returning to San Pablo, Bolívar: A Community of Resilience

One year later, at RSPO we returned to San Pablo, Bolívar, in northern Colombia, to reconnect with the smallholders who have been transforming the story of their territory. Returning was not just a physical journey, but an act of memory and recognition: listening once again to those who, from the field, continue to show that sustainability can be a true tool for social transformation.

San Pablo, on the banks of the impressive Magdalena River, is today a lively and active municipality. Nearly 30,000 people call it home. Although it remains little known to many Colombians, arriving is enough to sense movement, commerce, and an energy that speaks of rebuilding. That vitality now has a clear driver: oil palm production, which has become the economic backbone and a source of stability for hundreds of families.

For decades, this territory carried the wounds of armed conflict and illicit economies. In the 1990s and early 2000s, violence linked to illegal crops deeply marked the lives of rural communities. Today, that past is not forgotten, but it no longer defines the present.

During our visit, we once again traveled along rural roads and met with smallholders who have committed to a different model. At the Villa Amparo farm, we spoke with Yoger Payares, who shared his story, one that captures the transition from violence to dignity. With visible emotion, he recalled the hardest years of the conflict and the meaning of having rebuilt his life through sustainable palm oil. “It´s very hard to remember those stories… we experienced violence face-to-face, just inches away, and being in a different situation today is deeply rewarding for us. Being part of this initiative has empowered us,” shared Yoger. 

Today, his farm is productive and sustainable, his children are studying, and his family lives with a sense of stability that once seemed impossible. I can provide for our children’s needs in ways we never could have before. Today, I have a small house and a vehicle to transport our products; that has strengthened us and will continue to do so. What we seek with RSPO Certification is added value that generates income to support our family, our community, our surroundings and municipalities, because this truly is a chain that empowers many people,” he added.

A fundamental part of this transformation has been the Loma Fresca palm oil mill. Since 2012, the plant has established itself as an economic pillar for San Pablo and its area of influence. With a processing capacity of 30 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hour, Loma Fresca not only generates employment and income, but has also enabled the formalisation of a region that for years was dominated by informality and illegality.

Beyond infrastructure, Loma Fresca represents a commitment to the territory: investing where few once dared and accompanying communities in building a productive future.

The visit continued at the farm of Sandra Cárdenas, a smallholder who spoke with conviction about the role of women in Colombian palm oil and how this crop has transformed family and community life. “We are San Pableros! Palm oil farming changed everything here. It replaced the illicit crops with legal ones, where not just us, but our entire families got involved. It changed our lives.  It helped us raise our children and improve our infrastructure and our farms. It’s a profitable crop that is constantly giving to us, just as we give back to it,” remarked Sandra. 

This transformation process has been supported by the RSPO Smallholder Support Fund (RSSF), a mechanism that provides technical and financial assistance to smallholders to strengthen their capacities, improve agricultural practices, and advance certification processes. Through the RSSF, smallholders in San Pablo have been able to organise, access technical assistance, and take concrete steps toward more sustainable palm oil production, generating better economic conditions and greater stability for their families and their territory.

We also had the opportunity to speak with Francisco Mejía, who went from being a fisherman and coca grower during the most difficult years to a sustainable palm oil producer for more than two decades. For him, this change meant stability, peace of mind, and a new horizon for his family and community. “For us, it is an honour to have you (journalists) here today, so the country can see that this way of farming palm oil is indeed possible. It’s a change in the quality of life, and it’s a change in crops as well. This can be implemented in every municipality where there are so many illicit crops. Today, it is an economic driver,” said Francisco.

San Pablo shows that when palm oil is developed responsibly, with long term commitment, strong partnerships, and community organisation, it can become a real tool for social transformation. In this municipality, palm oil does more than drive the economy. Today, it sustains a different narrative, one built on resilience, dignity, and a shared future.