This month, our project manager, Diego Policarpi, together with Prosuco‘s partners, began a socio-economic assessment of the Bolivian communities benefiting from the YAPUCHAWI project.
Among these is the community of Muelle, which owes its name to a large pier that once overlooked Lake Titicaca. Boats bound for Peru used to dock here, loaded with sugar, wool and other goods which, according to stories handed down in the community, were then sorted and distributed to the Apolo region. The pier was therefore not only a landing point, but also a vital commercial hub for the local economy.
During his research, Diego interviewed Mariano Villasanti Chambi, head of public relations for the community union. His words reveal the transformation that Muelle has undergone: of the 65 families who originally lived there, only 25 remain today. Most of the young people have moved to the big cities in search of work and more stable living conditions, while those who have remained – mainly elderly people – continue to carry on with traditional activities: raising rabbits and chickens and farming, which is becoming increasingly difficult.
The scarcity of clean water for irrigating the fields and for daily consumption makes it difficult to maintain the crops that were once grown in greenhouses. Despite these difficulties, the community is holding on, keeping alive its connection with the lake and its history.