A father’s journey of building a beautiful future
Preserva & Santiago Quintana Umaña: forest-building in COLOMBIA
Preserva is a forest planning and building company based in Colombia. Dreamed up and founded by Santiago Quintana Umaña, Preserva aims to rebuild the environmental balance for our children and future generations.
Santiago is passionate about entrepreneurship and new projects. He grew up in the Colombian countryside dreaming of living to give value to peasant products and nature.
Santiago’s managerial and promoter spirit has led him through a challenging career building and leading companies in B2B service sectors. In 2019, he decides to take action for the protection and reconstruction of the environment by creating Preserva. He is a person who lives for his family and who wants his daughter to learn the importance of believing and fighting for her dreams, to be proud that her father is a forest ranger.
I met Santiago through Preserva’s IG page and I was instantly intrigued by what his mission is. After learning more about his work through a Zoom chat, I was mindblown by not only his enthusiasm and vision for the future, but also how much he has managed to bring this vision to life. I decided to interview him further so that he can share some of his wisdom with other changemakers who hope to contribute to sustainability through their work!
Keep reading for this amazing inspiration! Thank you so much, Santiago!
First of all, who are you and what do you do?
I am a family person, entrepreneur, all my life I have felt passion for nature and for building companies that provide solutions tailored to the needs of each one. I firmly believe in building trust and living consistently with my values.
How did you come up with the idea for Preserva?
The idea of Preserva arises from a conversation with my wife when our daughter Alicia was born. She asked me, what would you like Alicia to say at school when they ask her about what your father works for?
I told her that I wanted her to say that I am a forest ranger, my wife opened her eyes and told me how did I think of saying that, what is a family of a forest ranger going to live on?
From there I set the goal that my next endeavor was a solution to protect and build forests.
I spent about a year meeting and interviewing people from different sectors to understand what would be the reasons why there is a true motivation of companies and people to build environmental solutions.
What was your journey like creating the business from the beginning until now?
Building a company is a challenge - understanding the true needs and interests of companies and people involves a lot of observation and work.
Building a team of people who believe in something that doesn't exist has been a challenge.
The process of building a value proposition has been one of great persistence and effort.
Initially, most of my effort was on building a value proposition that could be materialized. I felt that there was a giant opportunity to build this company but I did not know how. Then, we had a big job in assembling the team of people who are today willing to dedicate their effort and time to building environmental solutions.
We continue to look for a way to differentiate ourselves in the market by bringing environmental solutions closer and closer to companies and people - this means offering products and services that have enough value so that everyone has an interest in building and protecting forests.
Who are on your team and what do they do? How do you guys all work together?
Preserva is the result of a union of professionals from different areas:
RICARDO UMAÑA
Experience in local and multinational management positions and in Board of Directors in the private and union sector. Expert in the management of natural resources. Involved in integral systems in biological fields as well as social fields for the production of sustainable timber.
SANTIAGO QUINTANA
Industrial engineer, manager and promoter in building and leading companies in the B2B sector of various industries.
MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ
Professor and manager of companies in the forestry sector. 40 years of experience in the design and operation of forestry production systems. Expert in planning and designing of studies of environmental impact, auditioning, implementation, monitoring and quantification of forestall projects in MDL, CCX and other standards.
MONICA LOZANO
Lawyer specialized in the protection of the intangible, brands, patents, copyright, and intellectual property. Speaker in subjects of arbitration and industrial property.
LILIANA VILLAMIZAR
Lawyer. Expert in management of partnerships, contract negotiation, and judicial relationships with emphasis on crisis, international investments, Arbitration Courts, and legal material in the project of Mecanismo de Desarrllo Limpio.
IVAN MEJIA
Expert in the creation of content, brand positioning and communication strategy design. Works in “orange economy” with communities and the construction of sustainable models.
JOSE VICENTE MOGOLLON
Expert in technology and entrepreneurship. Innovative, business models, impact, and economic development are his greatest skills.
We work together complementing each other in different areas with the fundamental purpose of bringing environmental solutions closer so that we can achieve our goal of one million hectares in 10 years.
(NOTE: This interview was conducted in October 2021. Since then, the company staff may have changed.)
What are some challenges you have faced and how are you dealing with them?
The first challenge was to find a solution that people believe in. The second has been to differentiate ourselves. The third is to get companies and people to place their own value on sustainability within their personal value proposition and way of life, instead of waiting that environmental solutions to come from governments and large corporations.
We have managed to move forward by listening to everyone, understanding the reality of everyone's different interests, and having a lot of persistence and desire to work for our goals.
What is the best part about your job?
Going out to projects and seeing the beauty and importance of nature!
What would you say to someone who is thinking about turning their skills and talents towards helping the environment?
First of all, it is a NEED that more and more people work for this cause. Secondly, it is very important that they believe and feel passion for what they want to do. Third, they should not be afraid of frustration and detractors (which is everywhere). The important thing is being convicted of your actions. Also, having the ability to understand and assimilate different positions so that you can make the best decisions. It takes a lot of effort and persistence to get out of everyday life and do different things.
What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps?
I believe that the future is one of many opportunities and work. We have the challenges to continue looking for solutions that add value to companies and people so that they are willing to include a commitment to the environment within their value and who they want to be.
thank you so much, Santiago & the Preserva team!
Visit Preserva’s website to learn more (in Spanish but you can Translate it to English on Chrome).
IG: @preserva.bio
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