04 | 04 | 2023

“It is difficult to find companies like this one, that care for the environment”

Diomedes Izquierdo, Archaeologist at the construction site in Sunnorte, Colombia

The first indigenous archaeologist in Colombia, and probably the only one in Latin America, Diomedes Izquierdo, from the Arhuaca community, works at the Sunnorte photovoltaic plant, in Ocaña, Norte de Santander region, where he contributes with his cultural vision on heritage preservation and where he admits to have found a committed company.

Being a pioneer in something usually represents a great cost and sacrifice for being the ‘first’. What has becoming the first indigenous archaeologist in Colombia implied?

It is like being committed to the 115 indigenous communities in Colombia and probably to the other native groups from other continents.

On the one hand, I feel very proud because my job gives me influence in the political decision-making process and I think that I can contribute to ensure that territorial guidelines value the criteria of indigenous culture.

Personally, finishing my studies was very hard, since I had to leave my community, change my residence and face my goal alone, even though I always had my family’s support. In my community there are not many professionals and, if there were, they would not be related to this sector. It was a great learning process, since my ability to speak Spanish was very limited, but I managed to ac-quire a good working knowledge of the language and also of English. It was a great achievement at all levels.

What does the Arhuaca community, your community, think of your degree?

Initially they were a bit sceptical because this degree is relatively new in Colombia, introduced barely nine years ago, and the career prospects were unknown.

However, after researching a bit, my family and spiritual guides advised me to pursue it, so it wasn’t only my decision. The objective is to bring our community vision to traditional archaeology.

After obtaining your degree, in less than a year you are one of the two archaeologists hired by Ecoener to perform the archaeological monitoring of the Sunnorte Solar Photovoltaic Project. What is your archaeological work in the project?

I mainly perform archaeological monitoring and gather data on the landscape and excavated soils. I assess the presence or absence of archaeological assets.

But I also I carry out awareness-raising and training work in local educational centres on the importance of archaeology and what an archaeologist does in a civil engineering project.

What are you getting out of your first professional experience at the Sunno-rte photovoltaic plant?

It helps me put what I learned into practice and study the possibility of applying traditional archaeology with new methods, more related to our ancestral vision.

When I first learned about Ecoener I was surprised, because up until then I wasn’t aware of the existence of companies that care for the environment like they do. In essence, Ecoener provides us with clean energy, something which is consistent with the principles of the local communities. We speak a common language and the truth is that it is difficult to find companies of this kind, who care about the environment and preservation of resources.

I feel completely at ease here because, as an Arhuaca, I feel that I am contributing to the development of the community.