Lida Medina
Founder of AMITLI, Colombia
Mom, I want to be like you
Lida Medina is an Indigenous entrepreneur from Vaupés, Colombia. For years, she and the women of her territory occupied a secondary place in community life—confined to domestic work and largely absent from public spaces. Although they occasionally participated in development projects, those initiatives rarely addressed their real needs. As Lida recalls: “They came with predetermined objectives and activities, without asking us what we needed, without identifying the needs we have as Indigenous women.” When the projects ended, nothing had truly changed.
Eventually, Lida realized that solutions would not come from outside—they would have to come from within. The turning point came when, at the end of one project, equipment and tools were left behind with no clear plan for their use, and people began taking pieces home. Lida refused to let everything disintegrate. Instead, she proposed something radically different: that the women organize, associate, and take ownership themselves. That decision changed her life, and the life of her community.
This is how AMITLI was born—a women’s association dedicated to producing and marketing fariña (cassava flour) and other local foods, as well as offering culinary services rooted in Amazonian cuisine. “We started with seven women and one basic need: to create a job opportunity for ourselves,” Lida explains.
Over time, she and her partners began keeping detailed records, organizing accounts and documentation, securing certifications, and registering the association with the Chamber of Commerce. That discipline set the foundation for growth. Their work soon extended beyond generating income for themselves: they were coordinating with other producers and local families, strengthening the regional economy, and contributing to the revival of traditional practices such as the chagra—a form of polyculture that promotes biodiversity and harmonious management of the forest.
Alongside the economic and environmental impact, a deeper transformation was taking place. AMITLI became not only a productive engine but also a powerful space for female empowerment—a place where women could exercise autonomy, hold leadership positions, and become agents of community transformation. Gender-sensitive training workshops, including those organized by the Regional Indigenous Incubator for the Amazon, played a key role in strengthening the capacities of women who are often hard to reach: rural Indigenous women.
The journey was not free of challenges. Some sectors of the community criticized the women, accusing them of wanting to “abandon their husbands.” Yet today, when Lida hears her 14-year-old daughter say, “Mom, I want to be like you someday,” she feels that every struggle has been worthwhile. For this young girl, the role model is no longer a silent and dependent woman, but an Indigenous leader who travels, speaks for her community, builds an organization, and shows that women can control their time, their work, and their lives—while improving the well-being of their families and their territory.
There is a striking fact about AMITLI: of the association’s 30 members, one is a man. When Lida is asked why a women-led organization has a male member, her response is simple: “He thinks like us, he feels like us. If he wants to work with us, that’s fine. We aren’t going to exclude him for being a man. If he thinks and feels the same, he is welcome.” AMITLI is not a restrictive space; it is an environment for growth open to anyone who believes in equity and recognizes that women can contribute as much—or more—than men to the community’s well-being and to the care of the Amazon.