After two years of hard work, 300 Colombians, including persons demobilized from illegal armed groups and members of the local communities, have sold the first ten tonnes of chili peppers grown by them on the "Hacienda Nápoles", a farm formerly owned by the notorious Colombian drug trafficker, Pablo Escobar.

"To tell you the truth, when I joined the chili pepper project, it didn't look viable to me, and I didn't think it had a future," confesses Robeiro, who demobilized from the paramilitaries Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia or AUC after eight years.

"I joined the project, more than anything, to comply with the government requirements (as part of the reintegration process, demobilized individuals must join a productive project or find other employment opportunities), but now I am very happy to be the leader of a group of us," adds Robeiro with a smile.  He is president of the Association of Demobilized Persons, collective owners of a part of the chili pepper plantation.

The chili pepper project, located in the municipality of Puerto Triunfo some 350 kilometers north of Bogota, is part of IOM's Reintegration and Community Development Programme, financed through a public-private sector alliance between the Colombian cement company Cementos Argos and carried out in coordination with the Presidential High Counsel for Reintegration.

Robeiro remembers that after being demobilized it was impossible to find work on the farms which he approached:  "The first question was: Have you been demobilized? Yes. Oh dear, I am sorry, there is no work for you. You don't know how to work the land," recounts Robeiro.  "The same thing happened everywhere I went."

This was the same situation for many former combatants in the country.

Robeiro says that his participation this project has changed his life. Before joining the chili pepper project, he had worked in several places with no success.  He soon realized that this project was different and it was offering him a real future because of the development angle and the links with the private sector and international organizations.  And then when the first crop was harvested, Robeiro realized that he had found a way of making a living for him and his friends.

The income generation project is benefiting 60 families of demobilized and vulnerable population.  The project also includes support to improve the quality of education, good agricultural practices, participation in activities aimed at social reintegration and peaceful coexistence, and business management training.

The participants earned an average of USD 275 per month during the first year, and approximately USD 325 per month from the second year on.  The families are also receiving technical training to develop methods to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the project once IOM assistance is finished.

The ten tonnes were harvested from a section of 2.5 hectares.  The project covers a total of 27 hectares of land, of which 9.5 have already been planted.

The participating families expect to produce 145 tonnes of chili peppers from the 27 hectares of land allocated to the project.  The peppers are sold to the multinational company Comexa, which markets its chili sauce in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, under its trademark name Amazon.

Robeiro says he is committed to his new life, which has enabled him to be an example for others.  "The people that I used to know have invited me to join armed groups, but I have turned them down.  I have already begun my new life and I want to continue on this path," says Robeiro.

From November 2003 to August 2006, more than 32,000 members of the illegal self-defense groups were demobilized as a result of a peace process with the Colombian Government. Currently the number of demobilized individuals rises to more than 48,000.  Some 18,000 ex-combatants have demobilized individually and voluntarily since 2002 from other armed groups. IOM provides its support to the government of Colombia for the reintegration process of these men and women.