First public health theme park in a rural area in Colombia

The Chaquen Theme Park was created in 2007 by Nazareth Hospital (a governmental, primary care level institution), located in a rural area of Bogota, the capital district of Colombia.  The theme park was conceived as a strategy to implement a primary care model developed by the Hospital, known as “healthy family, salubrious community, natural environment”. The model was designed to suit the particular needs of communities in rural areas of Colombia.  The theme park was developed to engage rural communities in a participatory process to generate health and wellbeing.  The model was developed under the recognition that human health is inextricably related to the quality of the environment where communities live, and how they relate with it.  The theme park is situated in the Sumapaz Paramo (an alpine tundra ecosystem) where demonstrative agricultural parcels were developed along with educational tools and methodologies to engage in participatory learning processes on food security, environmental health, occupational health in rural communities, mental health, chronic diseases, as well as sexual and reproductive health.  At the park, the hospital staff works with rural communities, the academia, urban visitors, and allied institutions on the development of alternatives to improve human health that are relevant to the life in rural environments.  Interactivity and game are important aspects of the methodologies employed.  The park is certified in good agricultural practices, it produces organic food and medicinal plants. The park contributes through several strategies to the wellbeing of the surrounding communities, including the distribution of seeds, the recuperation of native species, and continuous education.