The Bolivian communities of North Potosi are located high in the Andes, at an altitude of about 3,800m above sea level. The introduction of agroforestry and water management techniques to the local, rural community is changing the lives of almost 300 families who live here. But more water harvesting structures are urgently needed to restore the ecosystem and natural function of the land, enabling a sustainable, long-term solution.
Most of the Bolivian Andes are very eroded. Water scarcity is common in the dry season and, in the rainy season, severe runoff on the dry, rocky slopes means that most of the rainwater disappears quickly. Effective water resource management is essential to restoring the degraded land, and ensuring food security for communities in a place where livelihoods have been severely compromised by the impact of climate change.
Working with local farmers we plan to build 6 new concrete water reservoirs & 6 water infiltration 'lakes' and channels. Each reservoir can harvest about 30.000 litres to irrigate 200 agroforestry plots in the dry season & provide drinking water at schools. The infiltration structures will slow down runoff & improve absorption feeding the natural springs. Farmers will benefit from a higher, more frequent crop productions & trees planted in water infiltration zones contribute to land restoration.
In a financially poor country like Bolivia, the challenge is to balance ecological values and economic gain. The agroforestry system provides a model for how that balance can be achieved. Crops and fruit trees can grow with the irrigation of harvested rainwater. Restoring the ecosystem will increase biodiversity and soil fertility, decrease soil erosion and mudslides, address malnutrition, combat climate change, and create sustainable income opportunities for this indigenous, rural community.
