On this week's Colombia Calling podcast, Ohio native and now resident of Medellin, Zach Meese, joins us to discuss Nearshoring in his adopted homeland.

Now, I am pretty unfamiliar with Nearshoring, so Meese walks me through it and why the city of Medellin, Colombia is the ideal place for a business of this type.

Nearshoring is defined as a close relocation and refers to the practice of relocating business operations to a nearby country. And so, we ask why this happens and is it sustainable?

Certainly, for businesses in the USA, there's no significant time-zone difference, not too great a culture clash and in Colombia, there's a highly educated workforce...is the practice solely for economic purposes?

Tune in for this and the Colombia Briefing reported by Emily Hart.

Adventurer Daniel Eggington is back! After completing the crossing of the Darien jungle along the Pacific side from Colombia to Panama in 2022, Eggington has decided to return to Colombia to embark on a three-month expedition along the Rio Negro all the way to Manaus in Brazil.

The Rio Negro is over 1400 miles long with its widest point in Brazil at around 18 miles wide that is based around the Anavilhanas National Park. Eggington will face dangers from gold miners, illegal logging groups and perhaps come across unknown communities. Much of this expedition is uncharted territory.

Hear us discuss his planned trip, his fears and hopes and why he wants to do this. Foolhardy, very possibly...adventurous, almost certainly. Watch this space as we will be detailing Eggington's progress via GPS reports.

The Colombia Briefing is reported by Emily Hart.

Support us at www.patreon.com/colombiacalling

On this week's Colombia Calling podcast we hear about British photographer Natasha Johl's work in photographing the Arahuacas in Colombia's Sierra Nevada.

Descendents of the Tairona, an ancient South American civilization, indigenous group, the Arhuacos, reside in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Arhuaco have developed an understanding of the earth which gives equal measure to the human mind and spirit and the forces of nature. The Sierra Nevada is a microcosm of earth: A seamless gradient of life that changes with each upward step.

Because of this unique feature, it is known as the ‘Heart of the World’ to the indigenous communities who inhabit the mountains and valleys. The Arhuaco say that when the world was created, they emerged from this very spot. They call it the Mother.

Johl uses the quiet and quotidian nuances in life to present an intimate picture. Looking at the smaller, seemingly insignificant or unnoticed things, makes us appreciate the complex and delicate moments of everyday life.

Tune in for a wonderful narrative from the foothills of Minca where Johl now lives and hear how she has succeeded in earning the confidence of the Arahuacas, to be able to spend significant time with them.

Check out her website: https://sanctuaryartstudios.com/

Paula Delgado-Kling takes us to her homeland, Colombia, where she finds answers to the country’s drug wars by examining the life of Leonor, a former child soldier in the FARC, a rural guerrilla group.

But, this story doesn't begin with Leonor, it commences during Delgado-Kling's childhood, when Colombia’s violence also touched her family and her brother was kidnapped and held in captivity for six months. It becomes intensely personal.

Our conversation spans decades of the author's life as she follows the life and hardships of Leonor, but also, becomes aware of her upbringing in the context of Colombia's conflict, what is means for her identity, her family and how she sees her home nation today.

Buy the book: Leonor: The Story of a Lost Childhood
https://a.co/d/ikaDRuX

The Colombia News Brief is reported by Emily Hart.