Our Work in Bolivia
ACDI/VOCA has over 30 years of experience managing high-quality agricultural-sector development programs in Bolivia. Since the early 1970’s, our organization has achieved a reputation in Bolivia as the premier provider of international technical assistance in areas such as agricultural production, processing and marketing, business development services, environmental and natural resources management, institutional strengthening and community development. To date, ACDI/VOCA has implemented more than 500 short-term technical assistance interventions throughout Bolivia, most of which are conducted as components of broader program strategies.
For more than 35 years, ACDI/VOCA has proved to be a prominent partner with USAID/Bolivia and the Government of Bolivia in important programs focused on poverty reduction, broad-based economic growth, alternative development, environment and natural resources management and democracy. Our current portfolio includes multiple initiatives throughout Bolivia, with distinct objectives and funded through a variety of sources including USAID/Bolivia and USAID/Washington.
The institutional memory of ACDI/VOCA in Bolivia includes the implementation of key worldwide programs funded by USAID in the past such as the Cooperative Development Program (CDP) and the Farmer-to-Farmer program, and other long term contracts and agreements funded by USAID.
Since early 2001 to the present, ACDI/VOCA has been a key USAID/Bolivia and GOB integrated alternative development partner in the Yungas region, working with local inhabitants and governments to implement community-driven social and productive development projects. In October 2001 ACDI/VOCA launched the USAID/Bolivia-funded Yungas Community Alternative Development Fund (YCADF), which by its conclusion on September 30, 2006 had implemented some 233 community projects throughout the Yungas region.
As a highly successful integrated alternative development activity, the YCADF provided ACDI/VOCA with invaluable experience for subsequently implementing the Integrated Community Development Fund (ICDF) in the Yungas of La Paz and the tropics of Cochabamba. As a recipient of USAID/Bolivia funding for integrated alternative development initiatives in the Yungas region and Tropics of Cochabamba, ACDI/VOCA seeks to improve the standard of living at the village level through the construction of community and educational facilities, production and post-harvest infrastructure, potable water and sanitary systems and the provision of technical assistance. This ICDF represents the most prominent current activity of ACDI/VOCA Bolivia.
ACDI/VOCA also implements in Bolivia other important activities, including the Change Strategies component of the USAID/Washington-funded Worldwide Cooperative Development Program (CDP), where ACDI/VOCA facilitates the participation of Bolivian cooperatives in an interchange of experiences with cooperatives in other South American countries, toward strengthening the role of cooperatives in the global economy.
Most recently, in October 2006 ACDI/VOCA initiated implementation of the Special Development Activities Fund (SDAF) program, a three-year, USAID/Bolivia-funded activity through which ACDI/VOCA, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy and USAID/Bolivia, implements small, immediate-impact projects responding to expressed needs of beneficiary groups throughout Bolivia.
