If you flew to La Paz, Bolivia in 1996 and traveled south along the Altiplano you would see clusters of small farming communities sprinkled across the limitless plain. After a lengthy car ride you would eventually stumble upon the community of Carachuo in the municipality of Umala. As you looked out of the car window you would see modest mud-brick farmhouses keeping watch over dry plots of farmland.
Carachuo was home to Doņa Ayde, her mother and her sister Veronica. They lived on a farm and raised 6 cows, only three of which produced milk. Doņa Ayde's father lived in the city of La Paz and Doņa Ayde's brother lived with his own family far away in Bolivia's tropical valley. The three women and the 6 cows depended on the land. These were pastures that were starved of nutrients and could only support sparse grasslands, the same land that failed to feed their thin cows. The women struggled to survive as their farmland surrendered to desertification.
Even before Strategies for International Development's presence in Carachuo from 1997-2000, Doņa Ayde was somewhat conscious of land conservation methods because of her brother who was an agronomist in a commercial farming region of Bolivia. However, she was not aware of the potential benefits of changing the way her family had been farming. As a result, the land suffered from erosion and fell fallow.
When SID's project began in her village, Doņa Ayde decided to participate even though she did not understand the potential to improve the quality of her land. At 21 years old she was a young single woman eager to participate in competitions and win prizes. At the beginning of the project, agronomists took Doņa Ayde and other participants to visit nearby communities that had already begun SID's trainings and competitions. Doņa Ayde points to this as one of her most valuable experiences. During these site visits she saw communities that were, in many ways, much like her own, but achieved significantly better results from their efforts because they were practicing soil conservation strategies and farming practices. She also saw dairy farmers who were using new methods to increase milk productivity. She said visiting other communities was good for her because she witnessed other farmers achieving positive results. She commented, "I saw that in the communities where the project had worked there was grass and in the places where the project had not worked there was no grass." Consequently, Doņa Ayde began to see the possibilities for her own farm.
After visiting the neighboring communities Doņa Ayde and other farmers were ready to plan the project in their own community. The agronomists who were supporting the project and providing assistance made it clear that the farmers were free to choose the practices they wanted to adopt. Doņa Ayde said that it was important to her to be involved in the planning process. She realized that it was up to her to plan her own future because after the project was completed it would be her responsibility to continue working and living off her land. Not only did she see the value of improving her soil and farming practices, but also the importance of making her own decisions about what to produce. Doņa Ayde decided that she wanted to focus on raising the cattle she already had instead of turning to something new, like growing crops or raising chicken. Therefore, she knew she needed to improve her land so that her cows could have better feed and produce more milk.
Once her community decided on the practices they wanted to adopt, it was time to begin the project in the field. Farmers received training on how to employ new farming methods, ranging from digging water infiltration ditches to building better stables and vaccinating animals. For each practice adopted there was a competition among communities to see which community achieved the best results. Based on Doņa Ayde's priorities she received training on how to build stables for her livestock, improve the quality of her soil, plant native grass for grazing and treat her cows for parasites by vaccinating them against diseases.
After participating in the project for six months, Doņa Ayde's community won the competitions to plant alfalfa seed, dig infiltration ditches and build stables. "We felt we had to win," she recalled, "so all the community worked together on the practices we decided to adopt." Doņa Ayde's community was awarded with more alfalfa seed, tools for baling hay and each farmer who built a stable was given a Holstein cow. More importantly, however, their work continues to serve the community, even after the project ended. Her only regret is that they did not have more time to work on even more farming practices.
As a single woman, Doņa Ayde was also concerned about the role of women in the project. She knew ten other female participants, some of whom were widows, others that were unmarried. Doņa Ayde noticed how the project changed the role of the women in the community. Some women who previously stayed at home were now participating in the project and received equal training as the male participants. Those who were married were now helping their husbands in the fields instead of staying at home, and they were doing almost as much work as their husbands. Those who were unmarried, like her, were now able to generate some income for themselves and their families. Women were physically unable to perform certain tasks, such as working with bricks and cement, but they helped out with all of the other farming practices.
Doņa Ayde quickly picked up the new farming techniques taught by the agronomists. Her community saw her potential to be an effective leader and thus elected her as an irpiri, or a community volunteer whose task was to visit communities and demonstrate practices, provide technical assistance to the farmers, and mobilize participation. When she became an irpiri, she provided technical assistance to men in the communities where she volunteered. She recalled how some of the men initially looked down on her and other women participants, but as men and women collaborated on the projects their opinions of female participation began to change.
It was important to Doņa Ayde that she be an empowered woman. At the beginning of the project she did not see herself as a potential irpiri, however she enjoyed being a leader and helping others become more productive farmers. Doņa Ayde had finished high school and was looking for more opportunities to further her education. After SID's project ended in her community she went to the Catholic University in La Paz to study agronomy. Her classes taught her many skills including how to make milk products such as cheese, yogurt and butter. As a married woman, she would not have been able to pursue more advanced technical training or manage her own business because those opportunities and responsibilities would be handed to the man of the family. This reality persuaded Doņa Ayde to postpone getting married in order to further her career as an entrepreneur.
If you were to return to Carachuo on Bolivia's Altiplano now, in 2005, you would notice that much has changed. It has been five years since the project ended, and Doņa Ayde owns and manages more than 30 cows. Now lush native grasses nourish her cows, making them able to produce more milk. Doņa Ayde also says that until recently, her family also had been producing and selling yogurt at the market.
Doņa Ayde's family has also changed. Doņa Ayde's sister has since gotten married and moved out of the house. After their mother's recent death, Doņa Ayde left the University and came back to live on the farm. Now at age 29 Doņa Ayde is married and has a young daughter. Though she did not finish her college degree she has acquired a wealth of knowledge from her experiences as a community leader and through her graduate program. Doņa Ayde is now an independent rural businesswoman and her family is flourishing.
Although SID's project in Carachuo is officially finished, Doņa Ayde continues to practice the new strategies she has learned. She still vaccinates her cows and treats them for parasites and bacteria, and her family still works to improve their soil. She has learned how to take control of her land, how to be a community leader, and how to be an entrepreneur. Doņa Ayde has transformed her once starving land and livestock into thriving opportunities.
