The time for the communal boards has come, and the people of Bitaco know it. The role of these grassroots democratic organizations in managing, overseeing, and implementing initiatives for the benefit of their territories has resurfaced on the country’s political agenda. As a result, the communal boards have quickly updated to comply with the 2021 Norm 2166, which establishes guidelines for the formulation and implementation of public policy for these bodies.
The 8 Communal Action Boards of Bitaco, which are legally recognized by the Governor’s Office of Valle del Cauca, have applied their acquired knowledge to drive significant projects for development in their region. The first of these is aimed at improving the tertiary road network, which, in addition to boosting trade, will facilitate access to primary health services, education, and food for the population.
With the ongoing support of the Himalayan Agricultural Foundation, the people of Bitaco have also worked this semester on the formulation of the Territorial Action Plan for the 2024-2027 period. This document provides essential demographic data for profiling future interventions, based on the real needs of this district, which is part of the municipality of La Cumbre, located in the mountainous area of Valle del Cauca, a region with numerous needs for sustainable rural development.
All sectors joined in the collective construction of this Territorial Action Plan (PAT): the Communal Action Boards handled the local base, and then contributions came from educational, productive, NGO, institutional, and religious sectors, among others.
The PAT was presented by the community to the candidates for the mayoralty of La Cumbre, promoting its use as a reference point for development plans in the next four-year term.
