So suppose my colony are a cannibal tribe. For role playing reasons.
They're not colonists from space. They probably shouldn't be treated the same, with the same ethical system etc (also probably shouldn't start with buildable lightbulbs, that should come with electricity research)
Instead I suggest a "colony reputation" system.
If your colony/tribe are cannibals, they should get a "cannibal colony" reputation, affecting.. I dunno, trade, relationships with other factions (of which there should probably be a bit more).
Perhaps it'd be more difficult to recruit, i dunno.
I suppose this can be expanded, but I'm too tired to think of it more now.