Colombia's Oil Town Tries to Diversify Amid Shifting Energy Landscape

Orito, a municipality in the Amazon foothills of Colombia's Putumayo department, has been driven by oil extraction since its founding. The Orito 1 well, drilled in 1963, gave the town its name and led to the state formally recognizing it in 1978.

Despite predictions that oil would run out in five years or less for over two decades, a crisis in oil prices between 2015 and 2016 forced the municipality to diversify. The Interdisciplinary Center for Development Studies reported that the period from 2014 to 2016 saw the highest level of extraction, which has trended downward since.

The mayor of Orito, Edinson Humberto Ramírez Delgado, credits the Petro government's policy with not being as impactful as the oil price crisis. He notes that the municipality began exploring alternatives like cacao, specialty coffee, and Amazonian fruits, as well as ecotourism after the peace agreement with the FARC in 2016.

Today, Orito has a multicolored economy, with some residents working on tourism projects like birdwatching and nature-based activities. Sagy Ecolodge is one such business, offering experiences that attract visitors to the area's biodiversity. However, challenges remain, including poor roads, lack of internet access, and an identity tied to oil extraction.