The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, declared as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, sits as an isolated mountain apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia.

Reaching an altitude of 5,775 meters above sea level just 42 kilometers from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal peak.

[4] Palomino is limited on the north by the Caribbean sea, south with the municipality of San Juan Del Cesar, east by the town of Mingueo and west by the department of Magdalena.

According to INPA, Characterization of the Artisanal Fishing Activity in the Coastal Municipalities of the Department of Guajira in 2000, the present number of fishermen in the area is 0.4 percent of the total population, producing 99.9 tons cap/year.

The technological education and implementation is low as there is a lack of use of fertilizers (organic and chemical) and vaccinations to prevent diseases amongst cattle are nearly non-existent.

[6] Palomino's paradise attracts a low number of tourists even though the jungle landscape is exotic, there is vast biodiversity, and the beaches are white and uninhabited.

[4] The Kogi and Arhuaco Indians that inhabit the Sierra Nevada Mountains visit Palomino constantly to get sea snails, exchange their handmade products or to perform their native rituals on the beach.

There are different places on the coast that the Indians consider sacred and where they perform rituals called the black line, in Spanish “Linea Negra, which was recently recognized by the Colombian State.

The notions of class and racism are closely intertwined and the armed conflict has torn the cultural fabric that binds this community together.

Palomino used to celebrate the patron's saint, San Isidro Labrodor with solemn mass, fireworks and folk dances.

Palomino has long suffered with human rights crisis, loss of cultural identity, intolerance, racial discrimination, lack of clear environmental policies, disappearance of fauna and flora, inefficiency and corruption of the government, abandonment of the authorities and institutions, and even worse the loss of trust in the resolution of conflict and the problems that afflict the inhabitants.

The combination of all of these problems coupled with the fact that poverty is highly transmitted from one generation to the next is the main obstacle to the town's sustainable rural development.

Over the last few years inspired by the government's aggressive approach to combat guerrilla warfare, the Palomino community is trying to bring peace into their town, restore tourism and improve the lifestyle of future generations.

Palomino has a linear urban layout that runs from the south, at the San Juan Del Cesar, to the north, at the Caribbean sea.

Some excreta are treated through latrines (small wastewater systems in deep pits), the river or sea, but mostly people practice open air defecation.

In some informal neighborhoods such as the Divino Niño, which is currently under sea level, the latrines and small wastewater systems do not work and flooding during the rainy season causes serious sanitation problems.

A significant amount of the solid waste generated in Palomino is not collected and is either burned openly in the streets or dumped in rivers, the sea or empty lots thereby posing a serious threat to public health.

Buildings such a Catholic church, a school, a police station and a health center are located around the town square.