Investigation in the provinces of Aroma and Loayza

LOCATION: 24 communities in the province of Aroma and 16 communities in the province Loayza
PROJECT DURATION: june 2009 - may 2010
DESCRIPTION: The execution of a participative investigation in the rural communities of the implied municipalities, with the objective to identify needs and potentials in these communities and the design of demand-driven projects.

Problem:

The specific data, that are needed to set up a project which meets the demands of the population and the market (in the case of entrepreneurship) and has the goodwill of the population to collaborate, are usually not present in Bolivia. Neither the national statistical service nor the regional government have these data available. Development organizations that want to set up sustainable and relevant projects, like Chakana, have to collect the information themselves.

Solution:

To set up good and relevant projects, it is important to know the needs and potentials of a region. For this purpose, Chakana executes socio-economic diagnostics (investigations). The method includes the direct participation of the community members, and it is conducted by and international team of Bolivians and foreigners (mostly Dutch).
Officials from the provinces of Aroma and Loayza, situated south of La Paz, have sent some community leaders to talk with Chakana about such a diagnostic in their region. Chakana decided to accept their request and execute the investigation with infrastructural assistance of the governmental institutions.

Result:

Based upon the results of the diagnostic, the investigation team will write a detailed evaluation report with recommendations for possible projects with the highest relevance, most support among the population and the best market potential.

FUNDING: Chakana, Dutch Ministry of External Affairs