The
Province of Nor Lípez in Potosí, Bolivia, is located at over 4000 masl; it is a
very cold, dry and windy region where temperatures drop down to -15 C°. Close
to this area the world's largest salt
flat is located at 3656 masl. This is precisely where uniqueness
of the “Quinoa Real” has emerged, a variety planted in this region. This does not
only highlight the fact that in Nor Lípez the quinoa is produced organically
but also that the combination of salty soils and the particular climate
variability experienced in the region appears to provide a unique context for growing
Quinoa Real.
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| Altiplano landscape, Nor Lipez. G. Ruesgas |
Between 2007 and
2008, because of a significant price increase, quinoa production in Bolivia
came to quintuple, achieving record levels in its production as well as in the
expansion of the cultivation area of this grain. The price boom has definitely had
and continues to have many impacts on how households and
communities have combined traditional uses and forms of production with intense
and modern ways to serve and follow world market rules. This is mainly because
quinoa has evolved from being a very traditional grain that was primarily for
subsistence consumption to becoming a product for European markets. This new
status for the “golden grain” has had many different effects. Even though it is
well-known that for traditional quinoa communities, this grain has always had
an important place in the household economies, nowadays we could say that
quinoa is more important than ever at the household level.
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| Modernization of agriculture, Nor Lipez. G. Ruesgas |
The
high profitability of quinoa has given rise to the need to enhance productivity,
which has tended to replace weak traditional indigenous forms of employment such
as Ayni and Minka by new forms of wage labor with mechanized ways of
production. Among many other implications, families have developed income
diversification strategies towards increasing the production of quinoa. In this
regard, from our fieldwork experience, talking to and interviewing women
producers, we have realized that women have become essential.
During the last four
months,the Bolivian FATE team has been traveling constantly to the town of Uyuni
and other communities for interviewing female quinoa producers from the two most
important associations in the region of Nor Lípez: SOPROQUI and ARPAIAMT. These
women told us about how their lives have changed thanks to the increasing quinoa
price over the last ten years. We have noticed that women have a significant
participation in different public spaces within their communities, almost as
much as men do. However, we also realized that men continue to have a greater presence
and representation in political decision-making meetings. Moreover, we found
six women who are political authorities, most of them single mothers and very
efficient producers in their associations. Next, we will share some of the most
important characteristics of the female producers who are members of SOPROQUI
and ARPAIAMT.
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| Quinoa producers, Nor Lipez, D. Romero |
While we were speaking
with the female quinoa producers, something that definitely came out is the
impact of the price increase on their employment opportunities and conditions. As
the women said, they have been participating in the quinoa production for many
years, in the same way as the men. They
were always in charge of the quinoa production in each stage, combining agricultural
work with household chores. However, men had and still have more opportunities
to look for new job opportunities besides quinoa production because they have a higher
level of education. So women had to stay at home and help in anything they are
required.
Nevertheless,
these obligations could be considered an advantage in their participation and
knowledge in the sense that they have helped women develop skills that allowed
them to run the production efficiently. Women have always been one of the main actors
in quinoa production but, as they said, they are now looking for better
conditions and recognition of their work and they are seeking to have a real
income. In this regard, the price increase has enabled a huge space of labor
opportunities for both women and men and has provided chances to obtain not
only higher revenues but also more labor opportunities. In this context, the
work of women became even more important than that of men.
Most of the interviewed
producers said that they were the principal administrator both in the quinoa
production and at home. They produce and sell the quinoa; they also organize
and distribute what they earn among all members of their families, and keep the
rest. In addition, as regards the new generations, the younger producers have
more access to becoming professionals, e.g. agronomists, biologists, etc.,
which shows that women and men now have the same level of qualification. This
means that nowadays both employment and domestic activities are shared more
democratically with their husbands. These changes are less present among the older
producers, where women are more dependent on their husbands who always had more
opportunities to access better training and earnings. The main limitation for
these women is political participation because they do not have the same
qualifications as men, so they are very shy to express their opinion in
communal meetings. Besides, their priority is their children and their house.
Hence, for these women producers, their husbands are the ones that have to
participate in decision-making spaces.
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| Community meeting, Nor Lipez, D.Romero |
In addition, we found
many single mothers who have benefited from the price increase. In these cases, they
directly benefit from the earnings. However, the main
problem is the difference between single mothers and married women who do not
have the same possibility of sharing household chores, especially in the case
of younger producers. Single mothers are faced with limitations to participate in
other decision-making areas in the community, because they are in charge of everything
related to household needs. Unless they get help from other women, these
producers are at home all the time, taking care of their children.
Finally, most of
the producers said that the quinoa price increase has contributed to household well-being,
not just their personal well–being, but also in terms of their economies. Nevertheless,
we could say that even though women have the same income level as men, they
invest it in the family as much as possible, while in most cases the men invest
money for themselves. However, women have a better vision of their future
because they are part of the production as much as the men are. That is why they
have their own assets to improve their economic conditions, and in this context
their participation in other areas beyond their homes is increasing
considerably. They are more independent and greater visionaries compared to their
older partners.
