Bolivia: real lives

Faustino lives in Jatun Cienega, a very poor community in the upper valley region of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Many farmers like him struggle to survive, because there is not enough rainfall to support crops, especially in their tender, early stages. The farmers often lose their crops and have to travel to the city of Cochabamba, to take whatever jobs they can find just to survive.

But a food security program run by ChildFund Australia's affiliate organisation in Bolivia is enabling families to find a better way - through the provision of special seeds and a new irrigation system which families pitched in to build. Participating in the initiative are 137 families. Drawing from Jatun Cienega and six other communities, the program enables the families to increase productivity as well as improve their children's nutrition with a wider and better variety of foods.

An initial survey of the hilly region found an underground water source that flowed at the rate of one liter (about one quart) per second. ChildFund in Bolivia installed a plastic piping system for it, and the water is pumped to a receiving tank, where it is filtered. Then it continues into a storage tank. From the tank, pipes take the water to some of the homes in lower-lying areas and also to a central plot of land shared by the families.

On the shared plot, families plant crops and support the plants in their growth. "The idea of this community plot of land is that the families can have strong, well grown plants that they can transplant to their own small gardens," said Teresa Salas, program officer. "Without water, the plants would die before they had matured." ChildFund in Bolivia has provided training in raising the crops, which include some crops that are new to the area, such as improved onions, kidney beans, radishes, tomatoes, strawberries and peppers.

Longtime farmers like Faustino are amazed by the varieties of produce they are now able to grow. Faustino, who helped his parents work their land as a child, is used to little more than corn, wheat, and potatoes. Now the variety of fruits and vegetables will improve the families' nutrition.