The foundation was formed by female heads of households and local victims of the armed conflict, coordinating among 30 different local agencies and organizations including farmers, and entrepreneurs, and offers 12 tours and 17 hotel options in the region.

“Tumaco has the best cocoa in the world, recognized in France, Japan and Peru. We have the cocoa route, the mangrove and piangua experience, the sighting route with more than 40 native birds of Tumaco and from June to September whales come to mate from Antarctica in Cabo Manglares,” explained foundation manager Lidia Grueso. “What we did was take the work of men and women and transform it into tourist experiences.”

The Festival program featured six live cooking spaces with national chefs who visited Playa del Morro to cook with local cooks in an exchange of culinary experiences and recipes with the public. In addition, there were presentations of Kike Riascos, the King of the Marimba, member of the musical group Herencia de Timbiquí; and Herencia de los Ríos, by Roberto Payán (Nariño), winner of the Petronio Álvarez Festival 2022 and Pilares del Pacífico.

Colombia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arturo Bravo, said that “from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, we highlight this festival as a success story of the community tourism processes that Tumaco women have carried out in recent years…For this reason, we include the Festival Saboreando El Pacífico in the Network of Gastronomic Events of Colombia and we invite you, especially, to attend and connect with their origins from the mother cuisine, dance and diversity of the Colombian Pacific, as a great travel option in this festival Puente (long weekend).”

The festival also enjoyed support from the Conociendo Foundation, and the United States USAID Territories of Opportunity program, the Tumaco district mayoralty, the Tumaco Chamber of Commerce, and the Governor of Nariño.

Photos courtesy  of Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Tourism.