Set course for Bolivia, where SOCODEVI officially launched a tara development project in September called SAYARYI. Suzanne Mailhot, SOCODEVI’s chair and Promutuel Insurance representative, and Louis Marcotte, Ambassador of Canada to Bolivia and Peru, attended the project launch in person.
There were over 100 people at the launch, which also served as a celebration of SOCODEVI’s 35 years of work in Bolivia. Several municipal and national leaders were in attendance at both the launch event in Sucre and the one in La Paz.
35 years of economic development, co-op style
Through more than thirty ongoing or completed projects over more than three decades, SOCODEVI has been helping improve living conditions in Bolivia’s oft-marginalized rural communities. The SAYARYI project is the next piece of the puzzle for our work on inclusive development and consolidation of the tara sector.
To implement SAYARYI, our teams are focusing on three major themes: gender equality, food security and climate change adaptation. More than 3,000 Indigenous families, including 1,800 women, will be empowered to improve their living conditions in the departments of Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, Potosí and Cochabamba thanks to their hard work and dedication, and that of our teams.
To find out more about SOCODEVI’s work in the tara sector, read this article in Le Devoir’s special issue on international solidarity (in french).
“For SOCODEVI, these 35 years of cooperative, inclusive and sustainable development in Bolivia have been an unforgettable chapter. We’ve given a lot, but we’ve also learned a lot, which has helped us grow as an organization. Not only is our relationship with the Bolivian people a long one, it’s also built on the solidarity and determination of thousands of families who are working hard for a better future.”
– Suzanne Mailhot, chair of SOCODEVI
SAYARYI is an initiative funded by Global Affairs Canada.