Women in Rural Development, Bolivia

Funded by CODESPA, Spain.

Product Designer & Trainer

Women producer micro-enterprises. Community tourism market development through training and product design.

Lake Titicaca, a densely visited tourism destination in Bolivia, was the focus of small community tourism efforts where the native population from Challapampa, Coati and Sahuiña communities was previously trained in hospitality and bed & breakfast management. The program added a component focus in traditional and non-traditional handmade products made by women.

In rural areas where traditional practices are part of the national heritage it is important to base any program on the community’s known customs and skills and then training will present new notions as market-driven products that follow global trends while simultaneously maintaining its cultural identity.

New products developed for the tourism market were produced using traditional woven textiles made with natural dyes, traditional macramé, and doll-making techniques.

The training program also included organizational skills, leadership and costing and pricing.

The project prepared a catalogue presenting the training program and the results of the product development efforts.

The sales strategy also included the design of a carriage containing handmade products from women producers that they could manage taking turns.

Rural projects require taking development efforts in small steps in order to gain trust from communities and to achieve impacts from the application of new approaches that need time to be consolidated.

New training need a learning curve before finally becoming an efficient tool enhancing their livelihoods.

The sales for the three communities improved considerably after the project. The most important challenge for producers was to learn to work together instead of operating as individual sellers in the islands.