The Jiw — also known as the Guayabero — are a people of the Meta and Guaviare rivers in the Colombian Amazon-Orinoco transition zone. They are a semi-nomadic people whose traditional territory straddles the forest and savanna, and whose way of life has been shaped by sustained movement through this landscape across generations.
The Jiw have been severely affected by the armed conflict that has characterised the Colombian Amazon and Orinoco region for decades. Displacement, violence, and the loss of access to traditional territory have created acute pressures on Jiw communities — pressures that continue to affect their social cohesion, economic situation, and cultural transmission. The Jiw are among the Colombian Amazon's peoples whose current situation requires both urgent attention and long-term commitment.
At Dulce Amazónica, the Jiw are part of the network of communities whose representation here is not only cultural but political — a recognition that the peoples of the Colombian Amazon face real and ongoing threats, and that encounter between their world and the outside world carries responsibilities for both sides.
This community is one of many Indigenous peoples whose presence, knowledge, and artisan work are at the heart of what Dulce Amazónica does. Their ambassador brings that presence here directly — to Guatapé, Colombia.