Summer Archives

Kyle Schwartz Cochabamba, Bolivia - Mano a Mano

Kyle Schwartz

Mano a Mano Internacional Snapshot

Upon arriving in Bolivia, I went straight to the Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA) in Eastern Cochabamba where I joined the Mano a Mano staff in their daily work. I appreciated their warm welcome and was happy to begin helping immediately upon my arrival. I quickly learned that there is always more work than can be finished in a day. I worked with a volunteer from Brazil six days a week, often more than 10 hours a day, and yet there was always more to do. Below is a summary of the sustainable projects that I worked on during my stay. I also included a reflection on my Spanish immersion experience. Through my experience in Bolivia I have gained priceless cultural knowledge and life-long friendships.

Reorganization of the CEA: Reorganizing the Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA) is an ongoing project that I carried out during my time in Bolivia. Below is an example of the work that I did to reorganize the CEA. During my eight-week stay, I assisted in re-designing paths for visitors. Before I arrived, there were dirt paths, but they were hard to follow. I worked with the caretaker who lives at the CEA to lay down stones to line the paths and provide better guides as to where visitors touring the CEA should walk to maximize their time-efficiency and learning.

Agricultural Irrigation: I irrigated fields of trees and prepared other parcels of land at the CEA for harvests by distributing manure and building sprinkler systems for drip irrigation. Since individual crops within a parcel were connected via a series of canals, I learned that when I irrigated the highest row of parcels in the series, the water would flow down the canals to the other plants, a more efficient method than watering each plant separately.

Documentation of Agricultural Workshops and Tours: Each week, Mano a Mano offered either workshops or tours to provide agricultural information to local farmers and their families. I took photos, wrote articles about the presentations, and asked rural villagers for feedback about the workshops. Additionally, I received training on how to give a presentation, but unfortunately, the project timeline ended before I could perform that task. We also had an ongoing project in the rural village of Mollini, located about 1 ½ hours from Cochabamba. There, we provided supplies to help villagers build their own greenhouses. In total, we equipped and laid foundations for 41 new greenhouses for subsistence farming. Design/Art Work I used software and hand-drawings to make artwork for posters and diagrams for games. These were used to facilitate presentations for the workshops and tours. I also assisted in creating a design diagram (including a calculation of the number of bricks needed) for the construction of the new eco-friendly house that we worked on throughout my stay. Spanish Immersion Reflection During the eight-week project, I spoke entirely in Spanish as the locals speak only Spanish or Quechua. Communicating solely in a second language was exhausting, but it became easier with practice. Gradually, the words began to flow as I became more familiar with verb conjugations and the Bolivian culture. While eight weeks is not enough to become perfectly fluent in any language, my speaking skills have improved greatly. The Bolivian culture embraces gift-giving. If the gift happens to be food, then it is expected that you will eat the food in front of the generous individual who provided it. Even turning down invitations is interpreted as an insult. This aspect of the culture was often a challenge for me due to poor sanitary conditions, especially in rural areas. Not only was this summer project an amazing opportunity to familiarize myself with a different language and culture, but it also fostered autonomy. Daily tasks that I take for granted at home are more complex in Bolivia. I navigated the public transportation system to get to work, did laundry by hand, and prepared my meals with basic ingredients such as rice, vegetables, and meat.