Modernizing Rural Life in the Andes

The rural population of the Andes--about 10 million Indians--lives in valleys and plateaus situated between 2500 and 4500 meters above sea level. Their principal occupations are agriculture and stock-raising, carried out on a subsistence level due to the hostility and isolation of the environment, the lack of adequate capital, and the precarious system of land tenure. To raise the standard of living in this area through diversification of agriculture and stock-raising, afforestation, development of water supplies, promotion of handicrafts and small-scale industries, education and vocational training, the growth of co-operatives, health and nutrition, home improvement, community organization, etc, the Governments of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru have requested assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in establishing a regional system of mutual support and co-operation, with a view to the full integration of these rural populations into their respective national economies. Participating and executing agency for the project is the International Labour Organization (ILO), in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Students from the Centro de Capacitacion, a vocational training institution receiving help from the project, are seen installing a roof on a new school. [Exact date unknown]