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ing (orientation) event for our group took place in
Miami….just about a 30 minute drive from my parents home in
Pompano Beach. If I changed my mind in the three
days before we were scheduled to fly out I could easily call
hooo…just kidding!
Our group was named Bolivia 16
(B16) and there were forty of us, with about half serving in
rural sanitation and the others (like myself) in
micro-enterprise development. Though we'd come from all over
the United States and all sorts of backgrounds, it was clear
that we shared an appreciation for adventure - most of us had
lived or been overseas at least one time or another in the
past. In fact, as we comfortably ventured out on a
half-day trip to Miami 's Little Havana it felt like we'd left
the country and we certainly felt ambitious!
But
the culture change really began when we touched down in the
beautiful city of La Paz. We arrived just as the
sun was coming up and I will never forget the coolness of the
high-Andes air when we stepped outside of the airport to watch
a new day - and a new page in life - begin.
From
La Paz we traveled to the Cochabamba valley for 3 months of
language and skills training. The fertile countryside did not
have the surreal feeling that La Paz had….but the climate was
much more agreeable and the families we resided with were
kind, understanding and very hospitable. When we finally
received our assignments my Bolivian 'parents' showed their
caring nature - "Aye…Llica?….Pero no puedes, Linda….hace mucho
frio! Vas a morir!". Transla |
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tion….Linda, you can't go to Llica. It is so cold there
you will die!!!
Well, despite their urging me
to request another posting….I went off to Llica, high in the
windy, desert-like Andean altiplano. On one count
my Bolivian family was right - it was very, very cold, no
place for a Florida girl! But I learned a valuable lesson in
sustainable development AND am alive today to share it! Here
is the story of how…
Off the Beaten
Path
Bolivia is a country with just about every type of
climate imaginable. During training in Cochabamba I had
requested a site placement that would provide complete
immersion in the local culture AND that would not be too cold.
Well, the director of our program mentioned a 'fascinating'
project that would be an excellent match my qualifications and
interests…but it was in one of the more remote and extremely
cold parts of the country! With a spirit of
adventure I accepted the offer to go off the beaten path to
the extra-ordinary municipality of Llica.
In a
mountainous county with very few paved roads, off the beaten
path applies to most of the sites where volunteers live and
work. In my case, getting from Cochabamba to my site in Llica
meant taking a cross-county flight, plus a nine hour bus
ride….followed by four hours in 'local transport' across a
huge dried-up salt lake…aka the salt-flats of the Salar de
Uyuni. Needless to say, getting there was always
an exciting and beautiful experience!!!
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In fact, the municipality of Llica sits on the fringe
of one of Bolivia's most significant tourist
destinations. Almost every leisure visitor to the
country ventures off to see the very same salt flats that I
crossed to get to my work site in Llica.
The problem is that the jumping off point for
travelers who are visiting the salt flats sits in one
municipality - Uyuni - and the beautiful landscapes that
people camp-out and visit pertain to another…Llica. Over years
of increasing tourism this has resulted in degradation of the
land and the garbage left behind by visitors has become a
burden to Llica, while nearly all of the income generated in
hospitality and tourism has been absorbed by the municipality
of Uyuni.
According to my project plan, a solution to
this situation was already in the works. Before I'd arrived,
the town's leaders had secured funding from the World Bank and
they were planning to develop a museum dedicated to the area's
unique culture and history. To help in establishing Llica as a
worthwhile tourist destination the town's representatives had
requested a volunteer for assistance.
Shortly after my
arrival I began venturing off with the town leaders and got to
see the many beautiful sites the area had to offer. I gained a
real appreciation for the area and the hospitable nature of
the locals. Indeed, Llica was sur
(Continued on page 7)
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