Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta

Published purpose

The project aims to reduce hunger and poverty among the Aymara on the Altiplano. It is designed to improve food security and strengthen farmers' capacities to work with ecological, local solutions. Project activities aim to increase the capacity of the farmers to improve their yields and income with organic agriculture. Project activities include: exchange visits to other communities; workshops to develop solid and liquid fertilizer; workshops to develop supplemental nutritional blocks for animals; distribution of quinua & cañahua seeds; distribution of potato seeds; Participation of families, men and women, in fairs in their community to promote bio-diversity and a variety of traditional meals. The project is expected to directly benefit 400 families living in the Ayllu Aransaya. The project values local sustainable and endogenous agricultural practices to reverse a diminishing biodiversity of the indigenous crops. The local partner is AGRUCO, a research and development centre created as a part of the Universidad Mayor de San Simon in Cochabamba.