By Alexandra Williams | Communications Manager
As you know, food insecurity and malnutrition are rife in the poorer areas of rural Bolivia. Recent food price increases, irregular rainfall and the increased intensity of natural disasters are making the situation even more critical. Indigenous people in rural areas are being particularly affected. Malnutrition costs lives, particularly for older farmers who are more at risk of developing disabilities and chronic ill health – making it almost impossible for them to become self-sustaining, and escape poverty.
Over the past few months, we have been working with local older farmers to help identify suitable locations for food growing gardens where crops have a degree of protection from extreme temperatures including excessive heat and drying winds. Once these have been identified, this program has provided these farmers with equipment for water collection and storage, and most importantly, training on water-efficient irrigation. Through training techniques, this project is raising awareness on good nutrition and hygiene, so that older farmers can protect themselves from developing preventable diseases. For these farmers, and those most in need, we continue to distribute tools and seeds for a varierty of nutritious Bolivian crops.
As interest and awareness about this project is growing, local authorities and media have been invited to learn best-practices to help reduce hunger, to cover more vulnerable communities in rural Bolivia. The inclusion of this knowledge in local authority plans will have lasting benefits beyond those we are currently serving.
Currently, 1,000 people are to benefitting directly from this project; including 200 older people and 800 other family members. The project will continue to focus on reaching the most vulnerable.
An estimated 35,000 of the poorest people in the targeted municipalities will benefit indirectly from advocacy work. involving educating decision-makers and the wider community about water-efficient irrigation; systems never used before in the region.
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