The Land: From Desolation to "The Murmur of Water"

Twenty years ago, we encountered a rocky, desolate hillside overlooking Lake Tota—Colombia’s largest and most vital high-Andean wetland. At that time, historical vegetation loss and lack of formal protection had left the land sterile. Today, this 3.2-hectare site is Reserva Natural Xieti (Xieti Nature Reserve), which in the indigenous Muisca language means "the murmur of the water". As the region’s first recognized OECM (Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure), Xieti has been transformed into a thriving biodiversity refuge and a "living school" for the entire basin.

Our Work: A Virtuous Circle of Science and Culture
For 14 years, Fundación Montecito has championed wetland governance through our CEPA model (Communication, Education, Participation, and Awareness). We have already planted over 3,900 native trees and established a pioneer simple-but-functional Citizen Science Field Lab. Our work is not just biological; it is a shared social praxis where daily rainfall monitoring—collaborating with Indiana University (USA) on isotopic research—and water quality analysis with the local UPTC University turn data collection into an educational tool for the community.

The Challenge: The Physical Barrier
Despite our impact, our Wetland Centre (ABC Tota) has remained primarily virtual for years. This is our greatest barrier: the lack of a physical headquarters to host permanent, large-scale training for the rural youth and local stakeholders who are the lake's true guardians. To scale our "Wetland Culture" and replicate the OECM model across other private lands in the basin, we must establish the Muyso Wetland School (MWet).

Without a physical space, the principles of our 'Own School' (Escuela Propia) remain hindered. We currently lack the harmonious meeting place where native and scientific knowledge can converge to effectively advocate for the Rights of Wetlands.

Use of Funds: Activating the Technical Heart
This Ma Earth project, the "Tech & Restoration Hub," is autonomous yet complementary to our current GlobalGiving campaign. While our community on GlobalGiving contributes funding the civil structure (the shell), the Ma Earth funds will be used to equip the centre’s "biological and scientific heart". Specifically, we will:

1. Scale the Xieti Nursery: Moving from 1,000 seedlings to a regional capacity, providing native species like the vulnerable Colombian Oak (Q. humboldtii) or the endangered Black Cedar (J. neotropica) for restoration across the Lake Tota basin.

   

2. Professionalize Citizen Science: Installing an automated weather station and multi-parametric water probes to upgrade our research and contributions with monitoring climate and water quality, but also by installing new trap cameras to monitor biodiversity.

3. Renewable Energy: Installing a solar panel system to ensure our science and education hub operates with 100% clean energy.

Our Goal: A Legacy for the Andes
Our goal is to train 300-500 youth annually as Wetland and Climate Guardians. By supporting this hub, you are helping us turn 20 years of personal dedication into a permanent institution for high-Andean conservation. Join us in making "the murmur of the water" a powerful voice for the future of our planet, commencing by our surroundings.

By equipping this hub, the Muyso Wetland School will finally flourish as the harmonious meeting place where ancestral wisdom and professional science converge to uphold the Rights of Wetlands. This is our definitive commitment to Mother Earth: to ensure that our Andean waters continue to flow with life, sustaining both nature and community for all generations to come.

Thank you for reading our story.
With hope for the wetlands,
Felipe Velasco — Fundación Montecito