Two Decades of Livelihood Transformation and Community Pathways in the Bolivian Andes
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chapter 5
Two Decades of Livelihood Transformation and
Community Pathways in the Bolivian Andes
Jan Willem le Grand and Annelies Zoomers
Introduction1
Since the 1990s, the sustainable livelihood approach has been widely deployed
as a guiding principle for analysing poverty. There are many different ap-
proaches to sustainable livelihoods, but the most common definition is the
one given by Chambers and Conway in 1992:
A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material
and social resources) and activities required for a means of living. A liveli-
hood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and
shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and
in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.
chambers and conway 1992: 6
In addition to providing a framework for analysing how (poor) people build
their livelihoods whilst coping with shocks and stresses, it was also used by
policymakers aiming at bringing development interventions in line with peo-
ple’s capabilities and local priorities. It was a response to the disappointing
results of former approaches in devising effective policies to encourage devel-
opment and to alleviate poverty. The central objective was
to search for more effective methods to support people and communi-
ties in ways that are more meaningful to their daily lives and needs, as
opposed to ready-made, interventionist instruments.
appendini 2001: 24
1 The authors wish to thank Antonio Aramayo, Edgar Guerrero, and Miriam Vargas (ex pied
Andino); Roxana Dulón, Zulema Ramos, Geke Weenink and Mario Yapú Condo for their
participation in this research and for carrying out field research under the coordination of
Roxana Dulón. This paper is an elaborated version of our unpublished paper ‘Vivir bien?
Analysing Development Trends in the Bolivian Andes since the Reform Policies of the mid
1990s’, written for the eadi conference at York University, United Kingdom in 2011.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi 10.1163/9789004347182_006
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Typical for the livelihood approach is that people are centre stage. The empha-
sis is on seeing people as agents actively shaping their own future, focusing
not on what poor people lack, but rather on what they have – that is, their
capitals – and on their capabilities (Sen 1981; Chambers and Conway 1992).
The livelihood approach is grounded in the idea that people’s livelihood largely
depends on the opportunity to access ‘capitals’, which form the basis for their
livelihood strategies. These capitals are human capital (skills, education), so-
cial capital (networks), financial capital (money), natural capital (land, water,
minerals) and physical capital (houses, livestock, machinery, irrigation infra-
structure). Sometimes a cultural capital is added; or the physical or financial
capitals are replaced by produced capital (Bebbington 1999; de Haan and
Zoomers 2003, 2005; Zoomers 2012). Emphasis is on the flexible combinations
and trade-off between capitals, for example, if a person does not possess land
to cultivate (natural capital), that person will try to purchase a parcel (financial
capital), or to enter into sharecropping relations through his/her network of
social relations (social capital). This paper is particularly interested in liveli-
hood pathways at the community level. De Haan and Zoomers (2005)
propose to use the concept of pathway for the observed regularities or
patterns in livelihood among particular social groups and to use trajecto-
ries for individual actors’ life paths.
de haan and zoomers 2005: 42
Scoones and Wolmer (2002) believe that
pathways of change are non-linear and appear non-deterministic in as
much as various actors starting from different positions of power and re-
source endowments may have arrived at similar configurations by very
different intermediate steps.
scoones and wolmer 2002: 195
This article aims to provide a bottom-up understanding of livelihood transfor-
mations in the southern Andes of Bolivia, taking into account people’s differ-
entiated access to capitals and capabilities. In the research areas Chuquisaca
and Potosí, one of the poorest regions of Bolivia, indigenous groups are play-
ing an increasingly important role in shaping their own livelihood trajectories,
thanks to a number of reform policies that have been implemented since the
mid-1990s. We will determine to what extent these reforms have contributed to
new livelihood opportunities and gave way to new household livelihood trajec-
tories and new livelihood pathways at the community level and what kind of
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differences occurred between and within communities. In addition, looking at
the aggregate level over the longer term, we aim to determine whether people
are better off than before and what capitals and capabilities they used to build
more sustainable livelihoods. Finally, we aim to evaluate the usefulness of the
livelihood approach.
This chapter is based on fieldwork carried out in 14 communities over a pe-
riod of about two decades, which started in 1995, shortly after the implemen-
tation of the first reforms. It was part of a larger research project, Proyecto
de Investigación sobre Estrategias de Desarrollo (pied Andino), carried out
between 1995 and 1997 (Zoomers 1998, 1999) in 42 communities in Chuquisaca
and Potosi, by a team of Bolivian and Dutch researchers. In 2010, we revisited
the area together with several other members of the team. Data collection was
complemented with additional fieldwork in 14 of the original 42 communities
between 2011 and 2013, culminating in a PhD thesis (le Grand 2014).
In the following sections we will start with a description of the principal
characteristics of the research area, which form the points of departure of the
livelihood transformation, and an overview of major changes in the policy
context. Subsequently, we will identify four distinct community pathways of
livelihood transformation and the dominant trends that propelled that trans-
formation. Then follows a discussion on divergence and convergence between
and within these pathways. Finally, we review whether people have been able
to build sustainable livelihoods through this transformation process.
The Research Area: Points of Departure
This research has been carried out in 14 communities located in the south-
ern Andes (listed in Table 5.1), one of the poorest areas of Bolivia. The rural
communities in the northern provinces of the departments of Chuquisaca
and Potosí appear highly heterogeneous. Each community has specific agro-
ecological conditions, because their altitudes range from 1500 m to 4200 m
(see also Aramayo 1998). Seven agro-ecological zones are identifiable within
the research area, each with its own production environment. Highest is the
high puna where agriculture is limited by severe climate. In the intermediate
region, between 3000 m and 3800 m, we find the low puna and the pampa de
puna, where agro-ecological conditions allow for the production of potato in
the flat pampa areas, wheat and barley and some animal husbandry. In the
moderate pampa and the high and moderate valleys, between 2000 m and
3300 m, farmers grow wheat and barley, often combined with maize and pota-
toes. Irrigated land is used for a variety of crops, including potatoes (providing
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Table 5.1 Research communities and their principal characteristics.
Municipality Community Ecological zone Origin
Sucre Ovejerias Template valley Ex-hacienda
Ravelo* Cochapampa Low puna Ex-hacienda
Yamparaez San Juan High valley Ex-hacienda
Poroma San Juan de Orcas High valley Ayllu
Tarabuco Pampa Lupiara Pampa-puna Ex-hacienda
Yamparaez Talahuanca High valley Ex-hacienda
Ravelo* Yurubamba Pampa-puna Ex-hacienda
Mojocoya La Abra Low valley Ex-hacienda
Yotala Tuero Chico Template valley Ex-hacienda
Sucre Quila Quila Template valley Ayllu
Mojocoya La Cañada Pampa/temp Ex-hacienda
Zudanez Sundur Huasi Template valley Ex-hacienda
Yamparaez Escana Template valley Ex-hacienda
Yotala Wasa Ñucchu Template valley Ex-hacienda
Source: Le Grand (2014).
* Ravelo is located in Northern Potosi, the remaining communities in municipalities of
Northern Chuquisaca.
for an early harvest) and maize and fruits. Sheep and goats are raised in small
flocks too. In the lower and warmer valleys, below 2000 m, a broad range of
crops can be found, such as potatoes, fruits and vegetables, especially in areas
with irrigation. Few families raise cattle or small ruminants.
The selection of research communities broadly reflects the above-mentioned
agro-ecological diversity in addition to two types of community organisation
(the more ‘modern’ sindicato structure in ex-hacienda communities versus the
more traditional ayllu structure), accessibility and their settlement pattern
(concentrated versus dispersed).
Sindicatos were created after the 1952–1953 land reform to receive land
from haciendas. They form the basic unit of the national farmer federation.
Sindicatos quickly also became the major form of organisation for other village
communities which had no link with the hacienda regime. Usually all families
of a community are members of the sindicato, although young families with-
out direct access to land are either not eligible or choose not to be members.
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Altitude Population Settlement Accessibility
(1996) pattern (1996) (1996)
2000 600 Scattered Bad
3800 283 Scattered/small core Bad
2700 720 Scattered Reasonable
2900 636 Scattered Bad
3200 1185 Semi-dispersed Reasonable
2800 250 Scattered Reasonable
3300 445 Scattered Good
1700 583 Semi-dispersed Reasonable
2400 218 Concentrated Good
2800 599 Core with ranchos Variable
2600 418 Scattered Good
2500 522 Semi-dispersed Good
2500 600 Concentrated Good
2400 191 Concentrated Good
Two communities in the study are ayllus, which is a traditional organisational
structure based on the extended family and dealing with territory, agricultural
production and nomination of authorities. Several organisational layers may
be superimposed in the ayllu structure, while in the two communities con-
cerned, the sindicato was also introduced as a parallel organisational structure
(le Grand 2014: 65, 67).
Accessibility of the research communities is varied and ranges from bad to
good. Accessibility largely depends on the physical characteristics of the ter-
rain in conjunction with investments made in the construction, maintenance
and improvements of rural roads.
In the past decades, communities have gradually become more concentrat-
ed. From remote and scattered houses and from the far corners uphill to the
bottom of the valley, core settlements have developed around a church, school
or health centre. The settlement pattern now ranges from very concentrated
communities with abandoned hamlets (ranchos), through communities with
lively cores and surviving hamlets forming a scattered pattern, to dispersed
communities still lacking a clear core, though with a school or church repre-
senting a de facto midpoint (le Grand 2014: 281–282).
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Altitude 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000m Bolivia
Pando Research Area
0 20 km
El Beni
La Paz
Cochabamba
COCHABAMBA Santa Cruz
Oruro
Chuquisaca
Potosí
Tarija 0 250 km
Ovejería
San Juan de Orcas
Pampas Águila Mojocoya
Mojtulo
POTOSÍ Ravelo La Cañada
Ocuri Redención Pampa
Yurubamba
Cantu Molino
Sijcha Baja El Abra
Llavisa Qochapampa
CHUQUISACA
La Barranca
Sucre
Quila Quila Zudáñez
Talahuanca
Agro ecological zones Pampa Yampara Yamparáez
High puna Sundur Huasi
Tarabuco
Low puna Wasa Njuchhu San Juan Pampa Lupiara
Pampa of puna
Escana
Moderate pampa
High valley Tuero Chico
Moderate valley
Low valley
Figure 5.1 Research area: Chuquisaca and Potosí
Source: ®UU-GEO.
Changes in the National Economic and Political Context
From the 1950s to the early 1990s, the collective timeline of the communities in
this study includes the land reform of 1952–1953, a period of prolonged military
dictatorships, a major drought in 1982–1983, and a period of strong political
and economic adjustment in the mid-1980s. After several decades of neglect,
the situation changed with the election of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. Dur-
ing his first term from 1993 to 1997, he initiated a series of landmark social,
economic and constitutional reforms, some of them with important repercus-
sions for rural areas, particularly for the communities under review. Most note-
worthy was the redefinition of Bolivia in the constitution as multi-ethnic and
multicultural, and the first articles in Bolivia’s constitutional history enshrin-
ing indigenous rights.
Other vanguard legislation included the Ley de Participación Popular in
1994, which decentralised the country by creating 311 (since then expanded
to 321) municipal governments and empowering them for local governance.
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The law introduced direct, municipal elections for the rural and predominant-
ly indigenous population, and included direct decision making on municipal
spending for which 20% of federal spending was guaranteed to the munici-
palities on a per capita basis (Nijenhuis 2002: 56). In addition, the approval
of the Reforma Educativa in 1994 was meant to introduce classroom teaching
in the local indigenous language while also giving an impulse to increase lit-
eracy (Yapu 2011: 22). Finally, a land reform law (Ley inra) approved in 1996
was important. It stimulated attempts to make land markets more transparent
while also making provisions for the defence of indigenous rights (Zoomers
2006: 1024).
Between 1997 and 2005, Bolivia was governed by Banzer (until 2001) and
Quiroga. In 2001, the Bolivian Poverty Reduction Strategy was formulated,
agreeing to set a target to reduce the percentage of Bolivians living in condi-
tions of poverty from 63% to 41% of the population by 2015. This was to be
achieved by various strategies, such as creating more jobs for poor people;
improving services such as education and health; and protecting groups of
people who are most at risk, such as children and indigenous people. In 2002,
Sánchez de Lozada was elected to a second term. After a period of political
turbulence and interim presidencies by Meza and Rodriguez, Bolivians elected
the indigenous leader of the mas (Movement Toward Socialism), Evo Morales,
as president in 2005. Morales promised to change Bolivia and to empower the
nation’s poor majority by giving indigenous people more say. The government
first took more control over gas and oil resources, which are considered Bo-
livia’s largest natural assets. This was followed by the introduction of several
programmes of conditional cash transfers or bonos, providing additional and
directly available monetary resources to poor families with children, pensiona-
dos and pregnant women.
Livelihood Transformation: Community Pathways
and Dominant Trends
Based upon empirical findings (le Grand 2014) the research communities
can be classified into four main pathways (Table 5.2), related to the resource
base (dryland or irrigation) and patterns of demographic change (decline or
growth). As we shall see, population growth largely correlates with the differ-
entiation in production levels over time, as most of the communities with rela-
tively stable or growing populations showed on average higher levels or less
decline in agricultural production (for a detailed description of pathways see
le Grand 2014: 315–320).
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Table 5.2 Classification of community pathways in the southern Andes of Bolivia, 1996–2011.
Population decline Population growth
Mainly dryland Dryland decline pathway Dryland growth pathway
Cochapampa, Ovejerias Talahuanca, Pampa
Alto, San Juan de Orcas, Lupiara, Yurubamba
San Juan
Mainly irrigation Irrigation decline pathway Irrigation growth pathway
Sundur Wasi, Quila Quila, Wasa Ñucchu, La Cañada,
Tuero Chico, La Abra, Escana
Ovejerias Rio
Source: le Grand (2014).
Note: Ovejerias is included twice (as Ovejerias Alto, in the highlands; and as Ovejerias Rio, in
the valley), due to its complete transformation from a dryland community in 1996, to the
establishment of a (range) of riverside communities in 2011.
In this section, we identify a range of dominant trends among the 14 research
communities, which were triggered by the policy reforms and which propelled
the transformation of livelihoods. In particular, we are interested to determine
how these trends together translated into the main pathways at the commu-
nity level and to what extent vulnerable indigenous groups were capable of
benefitting from these reforms. Thus the following analysis aims to disentangle
how the interplay between the preconditions or characteristics of the 14 com-
munities; the opportunities offered by the changing economic, political and
policy context; and the internal dynamics of the communities gave rise to four
distinct pathways of livelihood transformation.
Empowerment of Indigenous People, Recognition of Indigenous
Demands and Political Participation
One of the most important changes that have taken place since the mid-
1990s has been the empowerment of the indigenous population, due to the
implementation of the Ley de Participación Popular (Law on People’s Partici-
pation, or lpp) and the decentralisation policies starting around 1994. These
were followed by reforms introduced by current president Morales. Over
time, indigenous groups have become more vocal in claiming their rights
and have acceded to positions in local governments. Until then, rural areas in
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the southern Andes were largely the domain of non-governmental organisa-
tions (ngos), which had filled the vacuum left by the state, but also as a direct
reaction to the emergency situation that followed the drought of 1983. Rural
communities were not yet included in the municipal structure and only small
rural towns received a budget from the government.
Between 1983 and 1996, within the research area, the number of development
organisations grew from 37 to 130, and the number of individual projects in the
research communities from 49 to 285. In some of these villages, more than 40
individual projects had been carried out by many different o rganisations since
the drought of 1983 (le Grand 1998a: 362). Development interventions included
infrastructure such as roads, schools, health posts and drinking water (56% of
all projects), technical assistance, particularly in agriculture (36%), and credit
programmes (8%) (le Grand 1998a: 366–367).
In 1996, as a consequence of the new laws, rural communities became part of
the municipalities and they were entitled to make claims through the formula-
tion of local plans to be handed in to the municipality. Fifteen years later, we
noticed that ngos felt they had lost part of their ‘autonomy’ and that they had
to accommodate municipal policies more systematically. People’s participa-
tion in elections and interaction with municipalities had also substantially in-
creased. Growing numbers of community leaders, mainly men and increasingly
also women, participate today in municipal government. Gaining access to mu-
nicipal funding has become much easier and more transparent. Projects and
prioritisation are discussed during annual summits involving all stakeholders
and aiming at defining the annual operational plans. Nonetheless, several limi-
tations remain, which make the decision-making process and final distribution
of funds less transparent than would be ideally the case (le Grand 2012: 44). As
a consequence of the shift in access to funding, the position of municipalities
vis-à-vis ngos is much stronger today than before. The introduction of the lpp
thus changed the position of communities as merely being ‘consumers’ of de-
velopment, into active ‘citizens’, able to (s)elect their own authorities and to
make competing claims in the public arenas. However, it has not automatically
increased their sense of ownership of public infrastructure (le Grand 2014: 113).
Since the election of President Evo Morales, at the political level the at-
tention for autonomy and recognition for indigenous demands has further
increased. Communities are more successful in articulating their demands to-
wards municipal and higher levels of authority, using the syndicate structure
of the rural people’s trade union or the revitalised pre-Hispanic organisational
structures ayllu. In some cases, a shift is taking place from people demanding
‘development’, to claims for full disposition of the territory and corresponding
municipal grants under the label of indigenous autonomy.
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Table 5.3 Changes in empowerment and political articulation (1996–2011).
Trends Decline dryland Decline irrigation
Community Ovejerias Cochapampa San Juan San Juan Sundur Quila
Alto de Orcas Wasi Quila
Cultural identity − − − ++ − ++
Access to municipal −− − ++ + + −
funding
Political incidence − − + ++ − +
(e.g. in municipality)
External articulation − − + + − −
associations/sindicato
Organisational − −− − + − −
dynamics
Source: le Grand (2014).
Note: ++ very strong, positive, + positive, 0 almost without change, − negative, −− very negative/
very weak.
When we consider the overall patterns of convergence or divergence between
the four main pathways, it becomes clear that the empowerment of the in-
digenous population and the recognition of indigenous demand and political
participation did not really lead to a more egalitarian distribution of resources
of external interventions. As evident from Table 5.3, the growth pathway com-
munities were overall more effective in gaining access to municipal funding;
and in their external articulation or political incidence in the municipality, in
vigilance committees or in the regional farmers’ association. In practice, de-
centralisation also led to differences in empowerment between the syndicate
structures and the revitalised pre-Hispanic structures of the ayllu communities
of Quila Quila and San Juan de Orcas. Principally due to their claims for munic-
ipal autonomy, the latter faced greater scepticism among local municipalities.
Rapid Improvements in the Level of Social Services
and Infrastructure
Until 1996, the level of social infrastructure and services was generally low
and largely dependent on ngos and public social funds and in some cases on
the departmental development corporations. Since the mid−1990s, the rural
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Growth dryland Growth irrigation
La Tuero Ovejerias Talahuanca Pampa Yurubamba Wasa La Cañada Escana
Abra Chico Rio Lupiara Ñucchu
− − + + ++ + − + +
− − ? + + − ++ ++ ++
− + − −− ++ ++ + ++ ++
− + − − + + + ++ ++
− + − + + + + + +
population has gained better access to social services and the quality of the
available infrastructure has improved. Road access was generally limited and
only a few communities had secondary schools or continuous medical services.
In addition, just a couple of communities had access to electricity, mainly
those close to small towns. Modern communication was restricted to a few
communities with a public telephone cabin. Due to programmes combatting
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis), some villages had benefitted
from a first round of housing improvements (le Grand 2014: 297).
During our surveys 15 years later we noticed that the situation had improved
again considerably. Access to electricity and educational and sanitary services
had expanded rapidly. As a direct consequence of the lpp and other activities
by government and donor agencies, investments have been made in education,
including secondary education, and in a range of other services, such as the
provision of breakfasts and transportation, drinking water systems, latrines,
showers, housing improvements, communal buildings and health facilities.
Municipalities have now far more financial leverage than before, although they
still show limited capacity for investments and technical assistance. Across the
board, municipalities have seen a six- to tenfold increase in formal budgets
in less than ten years (le Grand 2012: 27). Between 1996 and 2011 the balance
between municipalities and other actors such as central government, multi- or
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bilateral programmes and ngos, shifted dramatically. Whilst the total number
of projects was about the same as between 1983–1996, for the period until 2011
around 73% was implemented by municipalities.
The improvement of social services, education in particular, is considered
of utmost importance among almost all communities. Education indicators
did certainly improve. The number of girls going to school has rapidly in-
creased, especially in the lower grades and is gradually increasing after eighth
grade. However, progress has recently slowed down (Yapu 2011: 33–37). In fact,
enrolment in initial and primary education has declined in most municipali-
ties, mainly due to migration (Yapu 2011: 35). However, at the same time enrol-
ment in secondary education has increased, reflecting the interest of people
in higher education. In addition to improvements at the supply side, the edu-
cational reform policy also aimed at stimulating bilingual education in order
to promote a revalorisation of local culture, at improving teacher training, and
at prohibiting corporal punishment. Investments were made in school trans-
port, school breakfast and lunch, and lodging and literacy courses for adults.
Moreover, children became beneficiaries of a programme for conditional cash
transfers. However, 15 years after the start of the educational reform, our sur-
vey showed that parents in most communities reject ‘teaching in Quechua’,
while emphasising the importance of Spanish. Spanish was considered much
more useful for finding employment and entering university. In spite of the
fact that the reform also aimed at stimulating bilingual education, this was
hardly visible.
In line with the previous trends, the extension and improvement of basic
services has led over different rounds to gradual convergence between com-
munities in terms of service provision (Table 5.4). On average, growth pathway
communities counted around 46 projects, compared to 36 on average for the
decline pathway communities. For public services, numbers of interventions
were practically the same (28 versus 25) for both pathways. Nonetheless, the
initial patterns were far from balanced, and certainly favoured the more ac-
cessible communities, predominantly in the irrigation pathway. The increase
in municipal investments contributed to a rebalancing and more equal distri-
bution, correcting some of the prior distortions and uneven distribution, in
particular in the public sphere and towards the dryland decline pathway. Many
communities now have better health services with more permanent staffing.
However, in most communities with nucleo status, generally the bigger and
more centrally located, the majority of them among the growth pathway, there
is a regular presence of doctors and nurses and in some cases there are even
ambulances. These communities have better-equipped schools and drinking
water facilities and more of them have access to electricity.
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Table 5.4 Changes in public service delivery (1996–2011).
Trends Decline Decline Growth Growth
dryland irrigation dryland irrigation
Community ov cpp sj sjdo sw qq la tc or tl pl ybb wn lc es
Status (nucleo/ − − + ++ − ++ − − − − ++ ++ + ++ ++
subcentralia)
External interven- + + + ++ − − + + + − + + + + ++
tions service delivery
Primary school/ −− −− − − − − −− −− − + + + + + +
enrolment
Secondary school/ − − − ++ − − − − − + ++ ++ − + +
enrolment
Health services −− + + ++ + + + ++ ++ − ++ ++ + ++ ++
Drinking water −− + + + + + + ++ ++ − − + + ++ ++
Housing −− + + ++ + − ++ ++ ++ − − − + + ++
improvement
Affected by Chagas − 0 − 0 − − −− −− −− 0 0 − −− − −−
disease
Source: le Grand (2014).
The provision of public services also resulted in internal differentiation in ac-
cess, for instance in relation to drinking water, electricity or housing improve-
ment, as reaching out to the more distant households is considered to be too
expensive or complicated (le Grand 2014: 285).
Diminishing Returns in Agriculture and the Growing
Importance of Irrigation
In spite of the above-mentioned empowerment and improvements in service
delivery, the developments in terms of agricultural productivity are more am-
biguous. In many cases, productive conditions deteriorated. In general, vulne
rability due to environmental degradation and climate change has increased.
In 1996, some positive developments were underway in a number of
communities. After the prolonged drought of 1983 new potato varieties were
introduced and a great deal of technical assistance was provided through
national and international organisations and ngos. Assistance included
seed provision, credit, storage facilities, mechanisation (tractors), marketing,
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a gro-processing and the establishment of farmer associations. The focus was
on horticulture, floriculture, fruits and spices, usually combined with potato
production of new varieties. In the early 1990s other new crops were intro-
duced too. Irrigation enabled several harvests a year and generally led to in-
creases in production.
These positive developments can be attributed in part to new varieties and
increased irrigation, and partly to positive market developments triggered by
progressive urbanisation and the resulting change in consumption patterns
and rise in demand and prices. Expanding motorised transportation, improved
accessibility and urbanisation allowed produce to be sold across greater dis-
tances than previously. Produce was sold as far as La Paz and Santa Cruz. Long
distance commercialisation had expanded considerably. As noted, some farm-
ers had become merchants, facilitating commercialisation within villages.
Moreover, increased migration had stimulated sales to new outlets. However,
in areas where only small quantities were produced, commercialisation was
still limited and only focused on nearby markets.
Looking at the situation 15 years later, we see that the ‘developing’ potato
production has not brought the benefits that were expected. Positive trends in
the previous period have generally stopped or were reversed, with the excep-
tion of small areas with expanded access to irrigation. In many communities
production levels stagnated, due to soil erosion, droughts, plagues and ‘genetic
erosion’. Although the new varieties generally respond better to changing cli-
matic conditions and provide earlier and higher yields, they also require more
inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides and selected seeds, and they are less tasty
and more difficult to store. Therefore they provide less additional income than
expected.
Due to these changes, and the growing availability of funds in the context
of lpp, today water has moved centre stage as a determinant for agricultural
development. Investment is increasingly taking place in water-related infra-
structure, for example, the construction of dams, the creation of small artifi-
cial lakes and other supporting irrigation works such as wells and boreholes.
Irrigation is considered an important asset for communities with access to wa-
ter resources, but overall the potential for further extension or improvements
remains rather limited. Nonetheless, adequate and well-functioning irrigation
infrastructure may indeed provide higher incomes for farmers. Irrigation gen-
erally implies more intensive land use; an increase (two- to threefold) in the
number of harvests; more labour involvement; increasing diversity of market-
able crops; a substantial increase in external inputs such as selected seeds, fer-
tilisers and pesticides, and less use of local seed varieties and manure. It also
implies more mechanisation and innovations in post-harvest activities such as
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selection, storage and packing. The additional labour requirements often im-
ply full-time family involvement and even the hiring of external labour, leaving
less space for prolonged temporary migration and other community activities
such as maintenance. In addition, the increase in frequency of harvests and
the flexibility in timing them allows for better adjusting to market opportu-
nities. Moreover, new crops generally require some technical assistance and
in some cases new credit facilities. Obviously, effective intensification of ir-
rigation often requires changes in community organisation: rights and rules of
access are redefined. Finally, water efficiency is improved, animal husbandry
changed and pest management improved. Although investments in irrigation
have been rather substantial in terms of funding and expertise, the coverage
rate of beneficiaries and positive income effects has been limited. We also no-
ticed that the introduction of irrigation often leads to situations of conflict
both within as well as between communities.
As becomes evident from Table 5.5, for the productive sphere the differen-
tiation in the pattern of external interventions was considerably larger than
for public services, with 18 projects in growth pathway communities versus
11 for the decline pathway communities, reflecting also substantial invest-
ments in irrigation and interventions such as seed provision in the former.
Communities with relatively good conditions for potato production experi-
enced a boom in productivity levels, and substantial increases in revenues
from market-oriented production. In addition, in the temperate and low
valleys and in pampa communities, agriculture diversified and intensified
especially in the areas suitable for irrigation. In the irrigation pathway com-
munities, we observed how the change from dryland to irrigated agriculture
went hand in hand with huge changes, providing the beneficiaries with higher
incomes.
The ongoing agricultural crisis was most evident in the dryland, and prin-
cipally the decline pathways. The traditional exchange of potatoes from
high-altitude communities for maize from lowland communities further di-
minished, which was already the case in 1996, while the overall incidence of
informal reciprocal exchange relations between communities declined. The
deterioration of agricultural production also has important implications for
exchange relationships and trading patterns between different zones. In the
dryland decline pathway, there is a shift of population towards the lower areas
in the valley or increased migration to neighbouring cities. In some dryland
pathway communities, migration is so strong that the absolute number of in-
habitants diminished strongly (le Grand 2014: 183–184), affecting the capacity
of the community organisation to redress the negative impact of deteriorating
productive conditions.
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Table 5.5 Changes in agricultural production (1996–2011).
Trends Decline Decline Growth Growth
dryland irrigation dryland irrigation
Community ov cpp sj sjdo sw qq la tc or tl pl ybb wn lc es
Accessibility −− + + ++ + − + + ++ 0 + ++ ++ ++ ++
Ext. interventions − − − −− − − − − − + ++ + + ++ ++
productive
Agric. prod. per − − − − − − 0 0 − 0 0 0 + ++ ++
capita
Agric. production/ −− −− −− −− − − − − − − − − + ++ ++
household
Increase in freq. − − − − + + + + ++ 0 0 + ++ ++ ++
harvests
Levels of − − + − − − − + + −− ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
mechanisation
Livestock large −− + 0 − − 0 − + − + − + + −− −
Livestock small −− − − + − − − − − + − − −− − −−
(Stronger) eco- −− − + − − + − + + − + − ++ ++ ++
nomic associations
/ supra-communal
Incipient land −− −− − − − − − − ++ −− − + + + +
market
Labour constraint − −− −− − − − − − − − + + + + +
Source: le Grand (2014).
The increasing importance of access to, and control of, water sources for ir-
rigation has been particularly evident in irrigation pathway communities. In
northern Chuquisaca, and in particular in the Rio Chico Valley, the pressure
on the newly gained irrigation land has resulted in a relatively quick transi-
tion from ‘old’ communities on the top of the hillside to ‘new’ communities in
the valley along the river, which, combined with substantial inmigration, and
a strong orientation towards market-oriented agriculture has led to an initial
land market.
Severe Environmental Degradation, Erosion and Climate Variability
Between 1983 and 1996, important adaptations took place in land use pat-
terns, due to environmental degradation and climate change. High-altitude
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c ommunities produced fewer and fewer tubers and increased the volume of
broad beans. At the same time, farming in the higher areas was diminishing in
intensity because of extreme drought, pushing agriculture towards land in the
lower areas. As agricultural land became increasingly scarce, more and more
pasture was converted into fields. Land fragmentation and progressive erosion
were also reducing the availability of pastures. Lack of sufficient fodder re-
duced the number of livestock and affected the balance between animal hus-
bandry and farming. Only in potato-producing communities and in villages
specialising in horticulture was the shortage of manure partly compensated
for by the purchase of fertilisers. Rising demand seemed to be leading some
communities to specialise in manure production (Zoomers 1998: 83).
In 1996, soil degradation and erosion were already visible in almost all com-
munities; plagues and disease were increasingly common, and people were
highly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. High-altitude areas suffered
from increasing drought and in many places damage from hail storms had in-
creased. Further, fallow periods had been reduced. Farming seemed to have
become riskier, in part because seed quality had deteriorated. Few farmers re-
tained their traditional access to land in different agro-ecological zones, that
is, a vertical orientation that had been the historical practice in large parts of
the Andean region (Murra 1972). In the vicinity of the Pilcomayo River, serious
water pollution from mining threatened agricultural production and was wors-
ening health problems. Deforestation made firewood collection increasingly
difficult. Gathering firewood required more time and money, as it had to come
from farther afield. Many people had switched to gas or to firewood purchased
from transport agents.
During our surveys 15 years later, we established that the balance be-
tween farming and cattle rearing was distorted further. In almost all com-
munities, agricultural productivity had decreased, due to erosion, but also
to increased extreme weather conditions, such as drought, hailstorms, heavy
rains and flooding. Less intensive farming due to prolonged migration prob-
ably also played a role. Agricultural land in the higher areas was increasingly
abandoned.
As becomes evident from Table 5.6, these trends also led to growing di-
vergence between the main pathways, affecting in particular the decline
pathways. Given the high sensibility of the region for climate change, access to
water developed into a sine qua non condition for market-oriented agriculture.
But even with small-scale irrigation systems the possibilities for agricultural
development are not very favourable: plots are small, and there is no adequate
system for technical assistance. The dryland growth pathway benefitted from
the introduction of new varieties, especially improved versions of local variet-
ies, leading to considerable expansion in areas where potatoes were grown.
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Table 5.6 Environmental degradation and climate change (1996–2011).
Trends Decline Decline Growth Growth
dryland irrigation dryland irrigation
Community ov cpp sj sjdo sw qq la tc or tl pl ybb wn lc es
Land degradation/ −− −− −− − − − − − − − + + + + +
abandoning
Land fragmentation + −− − − − − −− −− −− − + + −− + +
Affected by drought −− −− −− − − − + + + + + + + + +
Other shocks (flooding, − −− −− − − − − −− − −− − − −− − −
hailstorms etc.)
Territorial change/ −− −− − −− − − − − + − − 0 − + +
interaction between
highland/valleys
Source: le Grand (2014).
As a result – and following increased commercialisation – these areas became
increasingly dynamic and more integrated in regional and national markets.
In several of these villages, the number of community-owned trucks increased
rapidly, and some potato growers started to act as transport agents and ven-
dors. Over time, the use of agrochemicals and fertilisers increased, and opera-
tions became more specialised and capital intensive (Aramayo 1998: 100). With
respect to land fragmentation and the minifundisation of the land, it is inter-
esting to note that this process is now decelerating, even in irrigation pathway
communities. As new families cannot access sufficient land in the community,
they migrate to urban destinations. As a consequence the number of house-
holds affiliated to the sindicato remains therefore fairly constant.
Process of Settlement Concentration, Multilocal Livelihoods and
Increasing Outmigration
In 1996 some more accessible communities became increasingly spatially
concentrated, often accompanied by housing improvement programmes
(le Grand 1998b: 432). In addition, migration had become highly significant
virtually everywhere, albeit in varying forms and directions and with differ-
ing motives and objectives (Vargas 1998: 149). Since the national land reform,
many communities had established more concentrated settlements in order to
become eligible for central facilities such as schools, drinking water or electric-
ity or housing improvement projects. The process of settlement c oncentration
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and housing improvement had often unforeseen consequences for animal
husbandry and farming, principally due to the increased distance to livestock
and agricultural plots, improved access to schools and transport and corre-
sponding shifts in agricultural practices within households (le Grand 1998b:
432–435). In addition, migration intensified, both rural–rural and rural–urban,
leading to a major expansion in networks of contacts. The traditional verti-
cal orientation of production, travel and matrimony extending across differ-
ent agro-ecological zones was being replaced by a horizontal orientation that
increasingly involved maintaining residence in two places at the same time.
Looking at the situation in 2010–2011, we noticed that in many communi-
ties, along with the improvement of infrastructure, processes of settlement
concentration had continued or intensified. In some cases, ngos are p ressing
for concentrated settlements to facilitate the delivery of public services, in
particular related to housing improvement, electricity and drinking water
provision. In other cases, communities themselves want to upgrade their legal
status. Through spatial concentration they may qualify for a school or acquire
the status of municipal capital. Families often access a second house in the
new centre, basically for their children to be close to school, or to establish a
small shop. In the centre, quality of housing is generally better, and many more
houses in the core are connected to electricity and water. At the same time
the second residence uphill remains closer to the fields, and is often kept in
precarious conditions. Housing improvement started earlier and is also more
frequent in the concentrated irrigation communities in the valleys, which tend
to be more affected by Chagas disease, and are therefore often selected as pri-
ority areas for pest control programmes.
Processes of settlement concentration, multilocal livelihoods and increasing
outmigration led to a certain convergence in settlement patterns, while at the
same time migration patterns diverged (Table 5.7). Migration patterns among
the dryland pathway communities were principally nationally and s easonally
oriented towards Santa Cruz (sugar cane harvest) or the Chapare region in
Cochabamba (coca production), while those in the irrigation pathway com-
munities were more internationally oriented (mainly to Argentina). Access to
basic irrigation was clearly not a sufficient condition for communities to retain
migration, and for some irrigation pathway communities, migration figures
were even higher than in dryland communities. Only a few communities with
relatively large investments and prolonged external support fared better, and
managed to retain or re-attract some of the younger households.
Outmigration also impacts on the functioning of the syndicates and on
community life. In many irrigation and growth pathway communities, pro-
cesses of settlement concentration had continued or intensified, providing
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Table 5.7 Demographic trends, migration patterns and settlement concentration (1996–2011).
Trends Decline dryland Decline irrigation Growth dryland Growth irrigation
Community ov cpp sj sjdo sw qq la tc or tl pl ybb wn lc es
Demographic −− −− −− − − − −− −− − + + ++ + + +
change
National + + ++ + + + + − + + + + + + +
migration
Intern. migra- − − − − + − ++ ++ + − − − ++ + ++
tion/ networks
Temporary − −− −− − − − −− −− − − + + − + −
migration
Strong double − − − − + ++ − − + ++ − + − ++ ++
residence in
peri-urban
areas
settlement − + − ++ − − + ++ ++ − − − ++ ++ +
concentration
Source: le Grand (2014).
rural communities with a new urban-like centre, generally around the school,
health post, church and other community buildings. Double residence in peri-
urban areas has grown in importance, while access to different ecological
zones declined in importance almost everywhere, also as a consequence of the
land reform. More farmers maintained a home in the city, both as a temporary
abode and as a place for children to live while they attend school (Steel and
Zoomers, 2009). In some villages, more than half of the inhabitants resided
elsewhere for several months each year. This outmigration has important im-
plications for the use of local services. Many schools are losing children who
are sent to Sucre.
Outmigration, or having aspiration to leave, is not restricted to the poor-
est communities, but appeared as a general trend in the whole area. Overall,
there is more outmigration than before, and cities such as Sucre have seen a
very strong growth in peripheral neighbourhoods. In addition to rural–urban
migration, increasing numbers of people opt for having two homes, one in the
city and one in the countryside. As a consequence, the population is increas-
ingly composed of elderly and young children. Since 1996, this has led to a con-
siderable decline in average household size, and in the capacity of households
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to spent time either on agricultural production or on collective action at the
community level. This is especially the case for the elderly and single-headed
households. To the extent that people receive remittances or return with some
savings these funds are for the greater part used for buying a plot in Sucre.
Many households aspire for their children to grow up as ‘professionals’ (exit-
strategy), and therefore prefer to invest in housing and access to education in
peri-urban areas instead of investing in rural areas. In spite of the improved
services, people still residing in the countryside often complain that ‘real de-
velopment’ is still missing.
Social and Economic Outcomes, Conflict Prevalence,
Inequality and Internal Ruptures
In addition to the aforementioned trends, communities also faced different
outcomes in terms of household resources and internal differentiation, as
well as in the prevalence of exchange mechanisms, internal power relations
and conflict. Finally, we also noticed processes of splitting up and economic
agglomeration effects. The drive for access to services has often been a main
factor for communities to split up, to join forces or to lobby for a higher legal
status. The splitting up of communities may lead to short-term benefits, for
example, a new school, but obviously has an impact on their critical mass, and
may undermine the capacity for collective action and even the long-term sus-
tainability of the same local school as enrolment figures may rapidly decline
(le Grand 2014: 318–319). In a few cases, major conflicts or persisting power
struggles paralysed communities, which occurred in Quila Quila and La Abra
(le Grand 2014: 133, 228). Table 5.8 highlights these differences, and the overall
patterns are again far more positive for the growth pathway than for the de-
cline pathway.
Livelihood Transformation and the Convergence and
Divergence in Pathways
The above-mentioned trends contributed both directly and indirectly to pat-
terns of convergence or divergence between community pathways. We will
now briefly analyse the main patterns and the multiple feedback mechanisms
between those trends for each of the four main pathways.
First, the dryland decline pathway communities managed to build up their
public services, but were unable to maintain production levels in a risk-prone
agricultural environment. Some faced high levels of land fragmentation and
land abandonment and an interruption in access to different ecological zones.
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Table 5.8 Broader socio-economic trends (1996–2011).
Trends Decline Decline Growth Growth
dryland irrigation dryland irrigation
Community ov cpp sj sjdo sw qq la tc or tl pl ybb wn lc es
Household resources −− − + + + + + + + + 0 ++ + ++ ++
Growing inequality − − − + − − −− −− − + − −− − −− −−
Prevalence exchange −− −− − + 0 − + + − + + + − − −
mechanisms
Internal power − − − − − − −− − − + + + + + −
relations
Conflict incidence − −− −− − − −− −− − − + + − − + +
Economic − − − ++ − − − − + − + + + ++ +
agglomeration
Splitting (−)/joining (+) −− −− − + + − −− − − − + − + −− −
Source: le Grand 2014.
This pathway was most affected by major droughts and the overall process of
climate change with irregular rainfall patterns. Due to declining availability of
labour and organic fertiliser, not all landholdings were being utilised. Commu-
nity responses did not produce major shifts in productive technologies nor in
the balance between farming and animal husbandry. Risk-minimisation strat-
egies such as reciprocal exchange mechanisms were gradually undermined.
Natural resource conditions, for example steep slopes and fragile soils and
limited access to markets and external support disallowed major investments
in mechanisation. External support had very little impact in the productive
sphere as became particularly evident in the failure of the multiple but discon-
nected and isolated interventions and the limited sustainability of producer
associations. The syndicate clearly suffered from a lack of influence in the pro-
ductive sphere. With increasing migration, social capital eroded, demonstrat-
ed by declining confidence in community leaders and reduced willingness to
assume positions according to the established rotation. Marginal conditions of
production and increasing land fragmentation in some communities limited
alternatives for the younger households, which were obliged to seek a living in
peri-urban areas.
Second, the irrigation decline pathway shows comparable changes. These
communities also suffered from land fragmentation, declining access to land
under irrigation and increased sensitivity to flooding and contamination. This
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