•     Progress
•     Aqua - Guajira
•     Indigenous Guajira
•     Institutional Strengthening
•     Affiliate with the Foundations

About the Cerrejón Foundations System

Who we are

Since 2008, the Cerrejón Foundations System was set up with a mission to improve the quality of life for communities in the Colombian department of La Guajira, driving social and economic development.

As the largest open-cast coal mine in the world, Cerrejón is a key player in the national economy and fundamentally it is the most important economic driver in La Guajira. Our operation represents 41% of the region's GDP: should the region depend so heavily on coal?

It is important to us that the local economy also generates other income sources. We must all prepare for eventual mine closure, a part of this is to ensure La Guajira has sustained means of economic development in place.

The Cerrejón Foundations System has four Foundations, each carrying out a strategic mission that independently drives a sustainable development “shock” into the region. Indigenous Guajira aims to improve ethnic standards of living, Water to improve supply and quality of water in the region; Progress in La Guajira, for sustainable development of the region and Institutional Strengthening, for transparent and efficient use of mining royalties for community wellbeing.

• La Guajira Population: 655.943, 48% live in rural areas
• Rural population is the majority in 6 out of 15 municipalities
• 278.256 people (42%) are indigenous: Wayuu, Koguis, Wiwas, Arzarios
• Unmet basic needs in La Guajira: 65%
• Unmet basic needs in rural areas: 92%, the highest in the country

Directors of the Cerrejón Foundations System:

Alfredo Fuentes, Executive Director of the Cerrejón Foundation for the Institutional Strengthening of La Guajira. Doctor of Law, Universidad de los Andes; LL.M. Harvard University; M.A. in Economics, Boston University. He was interim Secretary General of the Andean Community (CAN) and Dean of the Law School at the Universidad de los Andes.

Paula Peña, Executive Director of the Cerrejón Foundation for Water in La Guajira. Political Scientist, Los Andes University. Specialized in Politics and International Affairs. Former Chief of the Human Rights Program of Cerrejon, she acted as an advisor for the Direction of International Cooperation at Acción Social responsible for de USAID cooperation, Chief of the Planning Office of the Administrative Department of Security (DAS) and Associate Expert of the International Center of Crime Prevention at United Nations in Vienna, Austria.

Eduardo Robayo Salom, Executive Director of the Cerrejón Foundation for Progress in La Guajira. Mechanical Engineer from the University of the Andes, an MBA from the same university, and a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was the Vice-President of Finance of Carbocol when the infrastructure of Cerrejón North Zone was built, and he has also held the positions, amongst still others, of Director of the IFI, Manager of the Bogota Aqueduct, and President of the Banco Popular. For over 15 years, he has been the General Manager of ERS & Asociados Ltda., a firm specializing in the management of projects and consulting in privatization, acquisition, and financial restructuring for Colombian and foreign companies.

Otto Vergara, Executive Director of the Cerrejón Foundation for Improving the Quality of Life of the Indigenous Communities of La Guajira. Social Anthropologist, Universidad Nacional de Colombia; M.A. Political Science, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He was an advisor in the Ministry of Agriculture for Rural Affairs and advisor to the Government of La Guajira in Indigenous Affairs.

Board of Directors of the Cerrejón Foundations System:

Permanent Members of all the Boards of the Cerrejón Foundations System representing Cerrejón:

• León Teicher: President.
• Claudia Bejarano: Vice-president of Finance.
• Jorge Álvarez: Manager of the Legal Department.
• Julián González: Vice-president of Sustainability and Pubilc Affairs.

External Members:

Cerrejón Foundation for the Institutional Strengthening of La Guajira:

• Lola de la Cruz Mattos: former Delegated Attorney for the Proactive Monitoring of the Civil Service, former Governor of La Guajira.
• Juan Camilo Restrepo Salazar: former Minister of Mines and Energy, former Minister of Colombia´s Treasury Department.

Cerrejón Foundation for Water in La Guajira:

• Carmen Arévalo: former Vice-Minister of de Environment and former World Bank Representative of the Water and Sanitation Program in various South American countries.
• Enrique Danies: former Minister of Mines y Energy, former Governor of La Guajira, former President of Carbocol.

Cerrejón Foundation for Progress in La Guajira:

• Rudolf Hommes Rodríguez: former Minister de Finance.
• Luís Ernesto Mejía Castro: former Minister of Mines y Energy.
• Isabel Londoño: former Director of Colfuturo.

Cerrejón Foundation for Improving the Quality of Life of the Indigenous Communities in La Guajira:

• Francisco Daza: Former Governor of the Department of La Guajira.
• Ricardo Márquez: Former Manager of Cerrejón Zona Centro, in Carbones de Colombia, Carbocol.