SID's training teaches impoverished farmers in Huanucollo, Bolivia how to transform their barren land into beautiful and productive pastureland. On average, farmers in Huanucollo now earn twice as much as they did in 2000.
The Huanucollo case study is our most recent, compiled during a trip to Bolivia’s Altiplano in August of 2005. Enjoy, and please consider donating so that we can continue to carry out projects such as this.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 marked my third and final day on Bolivia's 13,000-foot Altiplano. For the last two days, strong winds had formed dust tornados, which periodically swept clouds of sand over me, filling the small gaps in my camera and covering my clothes with a fine powder. My throat was continuously dried out. Water tasted gritty. All of this was due to the Altiplano's severe erosion. Seventy-five percent of the Altiplano has little or no vegetation. How could anyone, let alone farm, in this environment?
We had already visited four communities since 8:00am. Dusk was approaching, and when the sun sets on the Altiplano the temperature immediately drops from pleasantly chilly to just-bearably cold. Despite the lack of time, we pressed on to Huanucollo, a community of 120 families. Efrain Murillo, one of SID's lead agronomists, Alipio Alvarez, one of SID's kamanas and a native of Huanucollo, and our driver Willy, accompanied me.
As our jeep approached Huanucollo, the terrain looked increasingly eroded. Pastures gave way to brush, then tufts of brambly weed, which became sparser until our dirt road was indistinguishable from the surrounding land. Everything was eroded, rocky, desolate. I asked Willy to stop the jeep so I could snap some photos. Where were we, the moon?
Alipio, once a poor farmer himself and now one of SID's paid farmer extensionists, explained, "We are now on one side of my community, Huanucollo. You can see that this is all eroded. There is no pasture. There isn't tule or huicho [native grasses like cattails and bulrush]. There is nothing. Just dirt and rocks. This is the result of overuse and poor farming practices. The land was worked too hard, and now we have no more. But we've put another part of our land in reserve."
We drove through the sleepy town of Huanucollo, passing brown mud and brick houses. Alipio had participated in SID projects since 1996, and he pointed to a small house where he had first learned about SID. Huanucollo was a dusty, desolate community, and it made me feel like I was in a Clint Eastwood movie. Driving out the other side of town, the land looked different. Dirt and rocks slowly transformed into small clumps of increasingly think grass.
We parked the jeep at the edge of a fenced-in area (one of very few fences I had seen on the Altiplano) and walked into a field. A woman, carrying a baby lamb, passed us guiding her sheep. The sheep kicked up so much dust we could barely see ten yards ahead. Then, suddenly the dust cleared and we were standing in it - an incredible yellow pasture; tall grasses surrounded us, reaching up past our knees. Field after field of pasture stretched to the horizon. These grasses looked vibrant, healthy - unlike the desolate scene on the other side of the village. Amidst the yellow grain grazed robust cows, their heads disappearing in the tall grasses, mouths chomping contentedly. It was a beautiful scene. And I realized immediately that farmers could make a good living here.
Alipio told me, SID is well known on Bolivia's Altiplano as "Pachamaya Urupa," which means "Festival of Mother Earth" in the indigenous Aymara language. SID agronomists encourage farmers to identify problems and come up with solutions by acting upon their own ideas and experiences. Pachamama Urupa empowers farmers to take ownership of their own economic development, and it also enables them to be proud of their cultural identity as Aymara people.
We chatted with several farmers about their improved grasslands, but mainly they wanted to talk about their cattle. Huanucollo farmers have developed a business from buying skinny cows, fattening them up, and selling them for more. One farmer, Humberto Colque, explained his results. "I buy a cow for 800 Bolivianos [$100]. After a few months grazing on this improved pasture, I can sell the same cow for 2,000 Bolivianos [$250]. With five cows, this earns me an additional 6,000 Bolivianos [$750] every year." He added, "Thanks to Pachamama Urupa, I'm able to do all this."
While we stood in the pasture, Alipio spoke. "Okay, we are still in the community of Huanucollo. In 1996, this land was completely eroded, like the land we saw on the other side." Farmers nodded their heads. "With the arrival of the project Pachamama Urupa, this land has been completely recuperated. This is native pasture; it is not foreign." Alipio grabbed handfuls of tall grains, which I thought looked identical. "This is called chiliwa. This is called licheliche. Here's another grain called condochino. This one's called pacopaco. They are all very palatable, very good for fattening up the cattle."
"Right now we have 500 cattle on this pasture, which we keep here until January 20 [2006]; then we will take back the animals to our homes. We put the pasture on reserve until April [2006] and let the pasture grow up again. Pachamama Urupa has taught us how to create this pasture reserve, and we also learned how to better manage our water resources. We learned how to build terraces, construct water-infiltration ditches, and transfer water. Without learning these water management practices, we would not have been able to create the pasture reserve. That's why we want to continue with the project."
Regarding the cattle, Alipio explained: "Before, we had Creole cattle, and now with the project, we've changed little by little. Now we have Holstein and Brown Swiss. About 50% of the cattle are of these better breeds. We also have pasture rotations. It is not just one place with one person; it rotates. One month they could be here, another month they could be somewhere else, and so on. We also have alfalfa planted nearby. We want to sow even more alfalfa, which is very good fodder for cattle, and continue improving."
Alipio was quick to be honest: "Here in Huanucollo SID is working with 40 families, but here we have 120 families. We hope the Pachamama Urupa project will reach all of us. The other side of town is still severely eroded and we hope more funds will arrive to recuperate it as well. This is how we will have good pasture, good cattle; this is how we will have good family incomes."
I continued talking with farmers, learning about their economic situations and aspirations. Before participating in projects with SID, farmers in Huanucollo earned just $320 a year. Now, the average is $600. The challenge is to enable all farmers to reach Humberto Colque's level of increased income, above $900 per year. Farmers, and SID's Bolivia staff, asked me to come back to the U.S. and request more staff and more trainings, so that all Huanucollo families can learn to improve their lives.
"We have a strong desire for more financing and training for the community of Huanucollo. With additional funding, we are going to improve our eroded land by constructing water retention ditches, damming gullies, and constructing stables to keep our cows from roaming everywhere. This is how we're going to have a better family income, and we'll progress together, as a community. But without this work, we're not going to have our own income. We don't want to be poor."
As we drove out into the darkness, I reflected on my Huanucollo visit. Altiplano life is particularly harsh, but at the same time there is enormous potential. Hundreds of years ago, the entire Altiplano was continuous, lush grassland - like the good side of Huanucollo. Then, through overuse, much of the land was destroyed - like the other side. A transformation is again occurring on the Altiplano, and it is starting in small communities like Huanucollo. Little by little, through projects like SID's Pachamama Urupa, land is being recovered and people are realizing their potential.
by Paul Gruber
Special thanks to Efrain Murillo for his assistance and to Emily Peca, Abby
Johnson, and Arif Hidajat for their edits, advice, and translation work.
