Cooperativism and Organic Farming, the Soul of Santa Fe
In Santa Fe, one man’s vision planted seeds that grew into a movement—and those roots still hold strong.
Duration: 8 Hours
Start Time: 8:00 AM
Activity Level: 3
Pricing
2 people: $240.00 per person
3-5 people: $185.00 per person
6-9 people: $145.00 per person
Price includes 7 % ITBMS
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We spent a really great day with Christian.
We learnt a lot about the history of Santa Fe district and Panama. We also really liked discovering the organic farm of Maria and Chon, they shared their knowledge with us, we enjoyed it. The horsebacking was also great! We had the choice between several trails and we chose the adventurous one.
V Louvet. Toulouse, France
The Gallego Legacy Tour invites you into the heart of Santa Fe, Veraguas—where community, cooperativism, and culture continue to shape a way of life rooted in self-reliance and solidarity.
In the early 1970s, Colombian priest Héctor Gallego began walking the trails of Santa Fe, listening, organizing, and inspiring. His quiet leadership led to the birth of the La Esperanza de los Campesinos Cooperative, an institution that empowered local farmers and challenged the inequalities of the time. Though Gallego was forcibly disappeared during the dictatorship, his spirit still lingers in the mountains, farms, and shared stories of this region.
This tour honors that legacy—not in a museum, but in living form. You’ll explore the communities transformed by Gallego’s work, learn the roots of Santa Fe’s rural movement, and spend time with the very people carrying it forward: organic farmers, artisans, and cultural stewards.
At the home of a farming family, you’ll learn about organic production techniques, share a fresh local meal, and hear how the land sustains far more than food. Then meet a local artisan whose craft reflects the cultural identity of Santa Fe, from traditional motifs to modern adaptations passed down through generations.
Your day begins in the heart of Santa Fe, at the town’s modest plaza—an open-air space where neighbors still gather to share fresh produce and community spirit. At its edge stands a simple monument to Héctor Gallego, the priest whose quiet leadership in the 1970s sparked a grassroots cooperative movement that continues to shape the identity of the region. Here, your guide begins the day’s story—one not of monuments, but of lived memory.
From there, your journey continues by car through the rural outskirts of Santa Fe, where patchwork fincas, regenerating forests, and winding mountain roads hint at the deep relationship between people and land. Eventually, you’ll continue on foot, crossing a hanging bridge suspended over one of the most important rivers in Panama’s central provinces—a vital artery that nourishes farms and communities across Veraguas, Coclé, and Herrera.
Along the trail, you’ll arrive at a working family owned organic farm, where campesino life is lived with purpose. Here, the soil is not just tilled but honored; the practices are not just sustainable, but ancestral. You’ll tour the farm with its caretakers, learn how food is grown with ecological care, and sit down for a traditional home-cooked lunch—prepared with ingredients rooted in the very earth beneath your feet.
The afternoon brings a visit to a local artisan’s workshop, where crafts reflect more than skill—they carry the rhythm of the landscape, the stories of families, and the pride of cultural heritage passed from generation to generation.
Before heading back to your hotel, you’ll make one final stop at La Esperanza de los Campesinos, the cooperative store that continues to embody Gallego’s ideals of fairness, solidarity, and community-led development.
This isn’t a reenactment of history—it’s the opportunity to walk through a living chapter of rural Panama’s soul.
Movements don’t begin with marches—they begin with farmers, neighbors, and quiet acts of courage.
The Gallego Legacy Tour brings you into the living fabric of rural Panama, where stories of resistance are still rooted in the soil, and where culture isn’t preserved behind glass—it’s lived in the everyday. This is community-based tourism in its most authentic form: local, grounded, and guided by people whose lives continue to shape the region’s legacy.
For the Land
Organic farming in Santa Fe isn’t a trend—it’s a tradition. Families cultivate their land using practices that enrich the soil, protect the water, and respect ecological rhythms. By visiting their fincas, you support regenerative agriculture that heals the land and preserves food sovereignty.
For the People
This tour helps sustain local economies through cooperative principles. It supports farmers, artisans, and shopkeepers who continue the work Gallego once began—building livelihoods based on fairness, dignity, and shared success.
For You
You’ll walk away with more than knowledge—you’ll leave with connection. This experience invites you into a deeper understanding of Panama’s rural soul, where justice was planted in the mountains and continues to grow in every handshake, every story, every shared meal.
On an Isthmian Adventure, you will be accompanied by a Certified Interpretive & Naturalist Guide (CING). This means your guide has not only completed rigorous training in the nature, history, culture, and politics of the region, but also in the best methods for conveying knowledge in a matter that is engaging and fitting for the audience. Your guide has years of experience, is fluent in English, and annually renews their Wilderness First Aid (WFA) & CPR certifications.
Want to explore more of Veraguas or deepen your cultural journey? Let our travel designers tailor the perfect experience for you.
