Lenten Stories

Week 4: Empowering local communities in Peru

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Adolpho Ricapa Rodriguez, 35 is from the village of Jucul which is located in the Andean mountain ranges of Peru, 3,360 metres above sea level. He is married to Margherita and they have three children, Marbil, 9, Cathy, 7, and Anna Lee, 2.

Families in Jucul live a subsistence existence. Farmers have to plant crops on mountainsides, often many hours from the village, requiring them to walk great distances each day to tend them.

In 2000, Caritas talked with the villagers and helped them to identify their goals for the future and key activities they needed to undertake to improve the community. Caritas helped form a village committee. In 2005 Adolpho was elected president by his fellow villagers.

The staff of Caritas Huacho, with support from Caritas Australia, have worked closely with Adolpho and the other village leaders to provide training on new techniques for growing crops and improving the breeding of their cattle and sheep.

Caritas assisted the community by providing seeds* that have a strong resistance to cold weather and high altitudes. Today farmers grow potatoes, corn, beans and wheat. Adolpho hopes that by working with Caritas Australia's partner, Caritas Huacho, one day they will be able to produce enough crops to have leftover produce to sell to communities further down the mountains for additional income.

In addition, Caritas provided four bulls, twenty cows plus sheep for the community. This has improved the herd's gene pool which has enhanced the quality of cow meat for consumption.

The quality of the sheep's wool has also improved and can now be sold to surrounding communities for extra income which is used by families to buy additional vegetables, clothes and books.

Whenever four male calves and four male sheep are born they are given to a neighbouring village. This avoids in-breeding, which produces poor quality cattle and sheep, and helps other villages to establish their own herd of sheep and cattle.

A dairy herd has been established to produce milk. With improvement in the quality of the cow breed, eight litres of milk can now be produced each day. This increase in the quantity and quality of the milk has made a signifi cant difference to the health of the community, especially the women and the children.

Women are beginning to participate in these development activities and are now being included in community decision making. This has increased their confi dence and added to the success of the cattle and sheep program.

"Caritas has shown the community how to share, listen and respect each other. The people now have a lot more confi dence in themselves which is why we were able to establish the dairy herd," said Adolpho.

Caritas Australia is proud to be supporting Caritas Huacho's program which is strengthening the community and enabling men and women to work well together.

Your donation to Project Compassion will ensure communities such as Adolpho's have food security and can look forward to the future with confi dence and hope.

*Non genetically modified seeds.