Bolivian delegation undertakes study tour in Guyana

CUSO/ VSO, through its Accenture partner under the Making Markets Work for the Poor, recently hosted for the first time a delegation from Bolivia for a study tour.
According to a release, the purpose of the visit was to study the practices implementation of the Making Markets Work project in Guyana and to be informed of its successes and challenges.

The Bolivian contingent consisted of Santiago Etcheverry, a tour guide; Modesto Tapia, a traditional handicraftsman; Velma Lopez, a vocational school administrator and Kenny Knapf, a member of the municipal administration of Santa Cruz. They were accompanied by two CUSO volunteers, Christian and Yadilca Coe. The tour took place from March 2 to 8 in Region Nine.
The delegation visited with members of the Women Agro-processors Development Network (WADNet), where they viewed the production facilities of Aranaputa Agro-processors Group which produces organic peanut butter, and Wowetta Women’s Group which produces farine, tapioca and cassareep. One of the differences immediately noted by the Bolivians was that women were the ones who organised and were in charge of these enterprises.
This impressed them very much because the opposite was more common in Bolivia. They were also impressed with the level of organisation of the groups and the network as a whole.
Tourism is also a part of this project’s focus areas, so the team visited the villages of Moco-Moco and Surama. Moco-Moco is known in Region Nine for its vegetable farms and its rice project, which the team visited. While there, they were presented with the tourism plans of the village and also visited the beautiful Moco-Moco Falls.
In Surama, the team was exposed to the concept of community-based ecotourism and the challenges of implementation from its founding proponent Sydney Allicock. The delegation saw this as something they could implement in their communities.

The team attended a performance by the cultural group of Surama and was in high admiration of the dedication to keeping the indigenous cultural expression alive, as they were enthralled by the quiet beauty of the village.
The delegation visited Shulinab where they also had an opportunity to interact with the members of the South Central Peoples Development Association (SCPDA). They listened to a presentation of how they accomplished their mapping project and the challenges their 10-year long mapping project produced. This map serves as a key resource for SCPDA and plays a significant role in natural resources and land management planning. At the Bina Hill Institute, they were serenaded by the students and the concept of the institute was shared by Tourism Director Alphonso Forde.
One of the delegates, Vilma Lopez, revealed their involvement in a similar institution in Bolivia and expressed interest in working on some form of collaboration, especially with the teachers.