Rivers that build peace: Rafting with ex-combatants in Colombia

Clinging to a cliff edge above the rumbling foam of the Pato River, Miravalle is home to former FARC guerrillas and civilians who are using rafting to build peace.

(CNN) — The water is cold and shouting echoes across the river. As the boat approaches the rapids, a roar goes up to hold still, before a shout of "PADDLE" and the six rafters dig into the tumbling waters in an impressively synchronized display.

As they are released by the rapids with barely a splash in the hull, you would never guess that some of these men and women are more accustomed to bearing arms than oars.

The River Pato in the Caquetá department in southeast Colombia was once one of the main battlegrounds between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- People's Army (known by the Spanish acronym FARC-EP) and the Colombian government.