Colombian mothers challenge ‘bad luck’ taboos, take the lead emerald mining
Deep inside the lush and remote mountainous ranges of Colombia’s Boyacá region, villagers disappear into dark tunnels wreathed with shades of red and brown, slushing and sifting through nature’s timeworn treasure chest. The profession of emerald mining in Colombia has a long and bloodied history, but for the first time now its local mothers are at the forefront – determined not only to push back against the bygone law that they are “bad luck” – but also to provide for their families, serve as beacons of security for the historically war-torn region and to peel away stigmas of destruction and narco financing that has gripped Colombia’s rural regions for half a century.