The Chapare Community

The Chapare rainforest is Bolivia's main coca-growing region. Although coca can be consumed legally in Bolivia for a variety of activities such as preventing altitude sickness, curbing hunger, or use in religious ceremonies, it is also refined into the illegal drug, cocaine. Thus, in the global effort to combat cocaine production and drug trafficking, the Chapare region has been targeted for coca eradication, forcing many in the region to search for ways to earn a living. With the help of organizations such as ARTETROPIC, art has become one viable alternative. The artisans who work with ARTETROPIC are primarily women, who in Bolivia often earn less than half of what men earn at any given job. ARTETROPIC's role supporting income generation programs for women is at once an important part of women's empowerment in the region and a socially just approach to the problem of coca production. Women often use their new income to send their children to school so that they can access even greater opportunities and alternatives in the future.

Eco-Friendly Art

ARTETROPIC artisans are environmentally conscious and use the excesses of nature to create beautiful arts and crafts. Naturally renewable resources such as orange peels, banana leaves, jipi japa fibers (a wild palm found in the rainforest), and recycled paper are manipulated to make unique trinkets. Working in coordination with its artisans, ARTETROPIC conducts periodic environmental analysis to ensure that all of its operations are oriented towards preserving the rainforest.

Region: South America
Capital: Sucre and La Paz**
Population: 9.1 million (2007)
Size: Three times the size of Montana
Independence: From Spain on August 6, 1825
Currency: Boliviano (BOB)
Languages: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)

Literacy Rate: Total 87%; Men 93%; Women 81%
Education: Free and mandatory primary school education***
Primary School Enrollment Rate: 95% (2004)****
Life Expectancy: Male 64 years; Female 69 (2007)
Infant Mortality Rate: 50.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2007)
HIV/AIDS Prevalence: About 4,900 people, or 0.1% of the Bolivian population (2003)
Poverty Rate: About 63% live below the national poverty line
People Living Under $2 a day: 42.2% (2004)
People Living Under $1 a day: 23.2% (2004)
Access to Clean Drinking Water: 85% (2004)
Access to Proper Sanitation: 46% (2004)
Doctor to Patient Ratio: 122 doctors for every 100,000 people (1990-2004)

Statistics from CIA World Factbook 2007 & UNDP Human Development Report 2006

** Bolivia is one of the few countries in the world with two official capital cities. Due to a political struggle in 1899, the government was split between the two locations and has remained like that ever since. Sucre is where the judicial branch is and La Paz is home to both the President and Congress.
*** Although Bolivia recognizes both Quechua and Aymara as official languages, schools are most often taught in Spanish, making it hard for indigenous children to learn and move beyond the elementary school level.
**** Although the primary rate of enrollment is high, children in rural areas on average complete about 4.2 yrs of school, while urban children complete 9.4, and the secondary enrollment rate drops down to 74%

Bolivia has one of the lowest standards of living in South America. It has suffered through over 190 failed governments since its independence from Spain in 1825. Economic inequality has increased racial tensions between the rich of European descent and the poor Mestizos and Indigenous peoples who make up 80 percent of the population. 

In 2005, Bolivia elected Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous president, who has promised to bring social justice to Bolivia and end discrimination. Most of the indigenous population lives in rural, isolated areas of the country where they have little access to basic services such as health care or education. In the cities they face racism. The fact that many speak languages other than Spanish makes it difficult to attend school and obtain higher paying skilled jobs. Thus, most indigenous Bolivians continue to work as subsistence farmers, traders, artisans, or miners - all jobs that currently pay very little and offer little opportunity for advancement.

In addition to facing discrimination and lack of economic opportunity, indigenous people in Bolivia have recently found themselves caught in the middle of the war on drugs. Bolivia is the third largest producer of coca in the world (after Colombia and Peru). Although coca can be consumed legally in Bolivia for reasons such as curing headaches, curbing hunger, or for use in religious ceremonies, the plant is also used to make the illegal drug, cocaine. To stop cocaine production and drug trafficking, Bolivia has been pressured by governments from around the world, particularly the US, to destroy its coca farms. Many indigenous groups have refused to stop growing coca because it is part of their heritage and because, in some cases, it is the best way to earn a living. To support indigenous people, President Morales, a former coca union leader, has promised to allow coca growing while standing firm against cocaine production. In some areas of the country, organizations are assisting communities with the transition away from coca production by providing agricultural and work alternatives such as the production of arts and crafts.

For a great overview of the current situation in Bolvia, check out this video interview with the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Institute for Policy Studies. Its about an hour long, but is very informative.