Homepage

Language is the house of the soul

About Us
Nativa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to biocultural preservation, human rights, and community resilience. We defend the inseparable relationship between Indigenous languages, ancestral knowledge, native ecosystems, and the dignity of the communities who sustain them. We work in direct partnership with Indigenous communities in the Andean and Caribbean highlands of Colombia, and alongside BIPOC migrant communities in the United States, with a particular commitment to supporting migrant women and survivors of gender-based violence facing situations of vulnerability.We bridge ancestral knowledge with technology, using digital tools to support language revitalization, seed sovereignty, territorial stewardship, and access to culturally responsive resources. Through community-based partnerships, we strengthen protection pathways, promote the rights and well-being of migrant women, and support survivors in rebuilding their lives with dignity, safety, and autonomy.
Mission
From Indigenous territories in Colombia to BIPOC migrant communities in the United States, we partner with communities to protect living knowledge, strengthen women's and youth leadership, and drive action rooted in ancestral wisdom. We believe that lasting, scalable change begins not with external solutions, but with what communities already know, carry, and protect.
Vision
A future where Indigenous territories are safeguarded, ancestral languages and practices flourish, and migrant communities live with dignity, belonging, and full rights.

Our Programs

Women's Leadership & Economic Empowerment

We work alongside Indigenous women and cooperatives to build economies rooted in their knowledge, land, and priorities. Through training, technical support, and ethical market connections, we strengthen women-led enterprises, from agroecology to traditional crafts and ecotourism. Our goal: economic autonomy, cultural continuity, and resilient communities, led by women on their own terms."

Cultural Memory & Language Revitalization

Indigenous languages carry irreplaceable memory and knowledge, yet many are at risk. We work with speakers to record oral histories, build community-owned digital archives, and create language tools that meet their real needs. Technology becomes a bridge for cultural survival, keeping languages alive and in the hands of communities.

Youth, Education & Cultural Resilience

Language, culture, and identity are sustained when generations learn together. We connect elders and youth through storytelling, traditional food, ancestral arts, and land-based learning, strengthening ties between past, present, and future. Co-created with each community, our flexible curriculum is rooted in local knowledge and cultural traditions. Through listening circles, hands-on activities, and celebrations, elders share language and wisdom while youth build belonging and leadership. Nativa provides facilitation, materials, and technical support, while knowledge remains within the community. These intergenerational spaces help ensure that language, memory, and cultural practices continue to thrive.

Intercultural Health, Traditional Medicine & Wellbeing

Health is inseparable from language, land, and cultural identity. Nativa partners with community health promoters, elders, and local clinics to support intercultural health education, strengthen respectful pathways for traditional medicine knowledge-sharing, and expand bilingual health resources. The goal is improved wellbeing and dignified care-while safeguarding the integrity of medicinal practices and the ecosystems that sustain them.

The  school, Escuela Palmichal

School Farm – Somos Semillas

"We Are Seeds" is Nativa Foundation's school program that turns the farm into a living classroom, blending Indigenous ancestral knowledge with science, math, and ecology. Rooted in the belief that language is the house of the soul, learning happens through hands-on engagement with the land—observing nature's cycles, biodiversity, and food systems. This community-centered experience strengthens identity, youth leadership, and cultural continuity, nurturing students as seeds who grow in belonging, resilience, and care for their territories.

Culture, Art, and Memory

In territories affected by conflict and high school dropout rates, we create safe spaces where young people can build a sense of belonging. Through community-led bilingual education, cultural activities, and artistic expression, ancestral languages and knowledge become expressions of resilience. Art, culture, and traditional wisdom strengthen identity, reconnect youth with their roots, and open pathways toward the future. By nurturing creativity and cultural pride, the program also helps reduce vulnerability to forced recruitment and supports young people in reclaiming their place within their communities.

Guardians of Knowledge, College Sponsorship Program

Through this program, we invite sponsors to support students as they complete high school and continue on to higher education, often at universities far from their communities. Now in its sixth year, the program has supported 5 students in graduating from high school and helped 13 more access university studies. This ongoing support opens pathways to education, opportunity, and long-term personal growth. For more information, please contact: foundation@colombianativa.org

Later Achievements

Transforming the Community Kitchen
For years, an Indigenous woman cooked every day for more than 300 students at Palmichal School in Cauca, Colombia. Over an open wood fire on the ground.Smoke filled the kitchen, her clothes and her lungs. Yet she kept cooking. There was no other way to feed the children.
The Palmichal School community kitchen is now a safe, fully equipped space powered by biogas. Women can prepare meals without breathing in toxic smoke, while more than 300 students and their teachers benefit from a healthier place to eat and learn.What changed is more than a kitchen. It is a step toward protecting women’s health, valuing their essential work, and creating conditions where caring for a community no longer comes at the cost of their own wellbeing.
Supporting Migrant Women Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
Since 2025, Nativa Foundation has expanded its work to support BIPOC immigrant communities across the United States, with a special commitment to advancing the rights, safety, and dignity of migrant women affected by gender-based violence, sexual violence, and systemic injustice. We partner with community organizations and public institutions to strengthen survivor-centered protection pathways, provide trauma-informed support, facilitate family reunification, and coordinate humanitarian assistance, including the safe repatriation of individuals facing situations of extreme vulnerability.

Testimonials

Victor Jair Isco

"I'm really happy I escaped the guerrilla and can study here now."

Escaped from the guerrilla (13-year-old boy)

Our Team

Saday Osorio Córdoba

Founder, Executive Director

Daniel Nelson Hood

Director of Field Programs

Paulina Zapata

Director of Community Partnerships & Civic Engagement

Nathalia Orozco Espitaleta

Director of Peacebuilding & Humanitarian Affairs

Valeria Rueda

Community Storyteller & Communications Coordinator

Foto-Diasporas

Foto-Diasporas thumbnail
 
Foto-Diásporas
A traveling photo exhibition on forced displacement of Colombians in the U.S. This project emerged from multilateral coordination led by Consulate Social Advisor Saday Osorio Córdoba. Hosted by Ambassador Sonia Marina Pereira Portilla, Consul General of Colombia.
Sponsors: Humanity United, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the Colombian Unit for Victims.
Supporters: Commonwealth Club World Affairs, the Consulate of Colombia in San Francisco, and Colombia Nos Une.
Impact: 300+ at opening, 2,300 visitors over two months.

Press

Human rights advocacy for an Afro-Colombian migrant

Human rights advocacy for an Afro-Colombian migrant

12/17/2025

The San Francisco Standard — Coverage of the human rights case of an Afro-Colombian migrant

Read More
Our Bodies Are Not a Battlefield.

Our Bodies Are Not a Battlefield.

12/6/2025

As a featured speaker for the United Nations Association of San Francisco’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Saday Osorio Córdoba shed light on conflict-related sexual violence in Colombia, sharing firsthand narratives of how armed groups have targeted Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and campesina girls.

Read More
International Collaboration Agreement Signed to Support Victims of Violence in Colombia

International Collaboration Agreement Signed to Support Victims of Violence in Colombia

5/20/2023

For over 15 years, SADAY OSORIO CÓRDOBA has been creating bilingual curricula in indigenous languages and English/Spanish and has been actively participating in the Afro-Latino community in San Francisco, California, linking artistic and social projects between private and governmental organizations.

Read More

Strategic Partners

Contact

  • 111 Pine Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA
  • Suite 1400, Office # 10