March 22nd

     For our post this week I thought I would describe land usage around the area. As many of you know, cleared land here is at a premium. That is why for centuries, the citizens of the Yungas region have cleared hillside after hillside to grow coca, which is used to ease symptoms of elevation or altitude sickness, and other maladies as well. Many locals here live in the bottoms of the valleys, but climb thousands of feet every day to cultivate/harvest the vegetables, fruit, and products of nature. At home, it is not uncommon to commute 30 miles. Here the commute is vertical and can cover as much as 5000 feet. This isn’t done by vehicle, it is done on foot. People that are fortunate enough to have their own piece of land generally clear some ground for gardening. This can be used to augment family income, or it can just be for the family. For some of the larger homes, small flocks of sheep can be seen keeping the grounds presentable. These homes generally do not have anyone living on site; these are more often used for weekend retreats from La Paz for the more affluent people. Some of these homes would fit right in in many of the most affluent neighborhoods in the U.S.

     For the homes that have families living in them all of the time, there is a wide variety as well. There are homes that are nice by most standards. Then there are houses that are more lean-to shelters than houses. These can be found attached to mud brick buildings housing sawmill equipment, or homes for other residents. More often now, you find fired hollow brick structures replacing the old mud brick or lean-to structures. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a house might have more amenities; it is just structurally sounder than the mud brick before. Many times, the only electricity is to a single bare bulb hanging over the raw brick opening used as a door, covered by a curtain to give privacy to its residents.

     So, things are improving here for the individual families as far as housing goes. Clearing the cloud forest still presents the same problems it has always caused, but families are able to grow food, and some have very green thumbs. But what do you do when you don’t have any land of your own? This example was my reason for this subject today. There is an older gentleman, (I would estimate around 70 years old) from the village of Carmen Pampa that has four cows, 2 sheep, and 2 goats. Back home in the states, this man would have to have a couple of acres, if not more, to sustain his herd. This gentleman doesn’t even have a yard. What he does instead is simple. Every morning he gets up, and walks to whatever patch of grass he left his livestock tied up on the night before. He unties them and starts herding them up the hill from Carmen Pampa and the lower campus, up past the upper campus. He follows them about 10 kilometers, or about 6 miles toward Coroico, then turns them around and follows them home. He does have help though; he has 2 mutts that help him keep everything in order. His cattle get plenty of grass and water, plenty of exercise for leaner beef, all while providing a free lawn mowing service for grassy areas near the road.

     So, the next time that you think you don’t have enough room for whatever you think you need more room for, think about this example, and go out and find a way to get it done!

Peace!

Jeff