Connectivity in the middle of Wayuu territory

La Guajira is the northernmost tip of Colombia.
Desert. Wind and Salt Mines, and a sun that doesn’t negotiate.
It’s also home to the Wayuu people: resilient, rooted, and culturally powerful.

What made this project unforgettable:

• We finally felt La Guajira: Its heat, its winds, its colors, and its rhythms.
• We connect deeply with the Wayuu, one of the largest Indigenous communities in South America, whose culture and resilience are as strong as their traditional Wayuunaiki language.
• We witnessed history and reality at the same time: A culture that has survived colonialism, extreme climate, and economic neglect, yet still holds onto identity and pride.
• We saw firsthand the contrast between La Guajira’s breathtaking nature and ongoing challenges: Like limited infrastructure, access to water, and investment needs that communities are still working through.

This story is about setting up satellite internet in the middle of sand dunes and goats crossing the road… or not…

How did this actually happen?

A year ago, a Wayuu woman, Rina Plata, imagined something bigger than herself.

Today, she is a software engineer working with JavaScript and .NET. She lives in Medellín, builds digital products, and navigates the tech world with confidence. But her story did not begin in a city. It began in Resguardo Curari, a Wayuu reservation 40 kilometers from Riohacha in La Guajira.

She learned Spanish, but like many Indigenous children, she grew up navigating two worlds: her ancestral roots and the broader Colombian society. That dual perspective would later become her strength.

When she moved to Medellín, she didn’t just search for professional opportunities. She searched for belonging. She connected with the local tech community. She attended meetups. She learned, built, and grew. She immersed herself in software development, yet kept thinking of home.

Dreaming about Inclusion & Connection to the world

She began imagining what long-term transformation could look like:

• A community library.
• A shared kiosk for learning and gathering.
• Internet access in a place where connectivity had never existed.

She understood something fundamental: education today is inseparable from connectivity. Without internet access, students are locked out of opportunities that the rest of the world takes for granted.

The initiative was named Ancestral Guardians (Guardianes Ancestrales). The name carried intention. Progress should not erase culture. It should protect it. Strengthen it. Expand it.

Technology was not about replacing tradition; it was about empowering it.

This amazing project is a bridge between Medellín’s tech ecosystem and La Guajira’s ancestral land. It represents what happens when education, technology, and cultural identity are not seen as opposites, but as allies.

Why Latin America Matters in the Future of Value Exchange

Latin America is not a peripheral market. It is one of the most dynamic regions in the world for value transactions, including remittances, cross-border payments, informal economies, mobile adoption, and entrepreneurial resilience.

Colombia alone moves billions in remittances annually. Rural economies, artisans, social projects, and independent workers operate every day in systems that are often fragmented, expensive, or exclusionary. This is precisely why Interledger’s commitment to Latin America, including Colombia, is strategic.

The region is not just a beneficiary of innovation. It is a powerhouse of value movement. Supporting rural communities, artisans, and social initiatives is not philanthropy; it is central to the Interledger Foundation's purpose.

To build an open, interoperable payment infrastructure that allows money to move as easily as information.

What could the next dream be?

When a community connects to the internet, something shifts. Information flows. But value still struggles to move.

Because digital inclusion is incomplete without financial interoperability. In places like Curari, that is not theoretical.

It means:

• A Wayuu artisan selling handmade mochilas to someone in Europe and receiving payment instantly.
• Micro-donations flow directly to community initiatives without intermediaries absorbing value.
• Developers building digital services and getting paid across borders.
• Aid and grants are distributed transparently and efficiently in the territory.

Connectivity enables participation. Interoperability enables prosperity.

It is about designing systems in which historically excluded communities are not passive recipients but active participants in the global digital economy.

When one person gains access, an entire community can move forward.
When connectivity meets interoperable payments, opportunity becomes scalable. And that is where the real transformation begins.