‘When the river swells, it forces them to run backwards’: rising waters push Colombia’s farmers into hunger and despair

A system of wooden boards connects the houses of Villa Rufina, one of the Riosucio neighbourhoods. People in the Salaquí River basin rely heavily on agriculture, and many communities are now experiencing food insecurity Photograph: Antonio Cascio/The Guardian

Riosucio was established between rivers and swamps. For most of the year, the people of this Colombian municipality live above water and have developed ways to manage the fluctuating river levels. A network of makeshift wooden boards connects the houses in the town, allowing people to move between them.

Despite the resilience of these communities, their increasingly harsh environment is beginning to overcome all the methods and systems designed to tame it, causing crop destruction, hunger and deepening poverty.