Sweet Water
By Erika Reinhardt

UN Photo

Ecuadorian agriculture is threatened due to the ever-increasing reduction of plant cover on the Andean hillsides and an alarming drop in water resources, aggravated by the illegal use of artificial agricultural inputs damaging the environment. The Cañar River Rural Development Project (CARC) marked the beginning of IFAD’s attention to the indigenous peoples in Latin America, with “the principal objective of... a significant improvement of the real wages of the small agriculturists of the upper basin on the Cañar River through the introduction of irrigation and adequate technology for a productive development of their farms”.

The project was funded by the Government of Ecuador through IFAD, including contributions from The Netherlands. The Cañaris, an ethnic group who are the original inhabitants of the southern highland region in Ecuador, would be the main beneficiaries of this project. From the start, CARC had close ties with the Union of Cooperatives and Indigenous Communities of Cañar Province (UPCCC), the largest and most influential indigenous organization in the area. The success of UPCCC aroused fears and suspicion among some of the mestizo and white people living in Cañar. Tensions exploded in 1994 when nationwide protests were organized against the introduction of new land laws, which were supported by the big landowners and were said to render agriculture more effective.

The ethnic and political violence that exploded was a terrible blow to the development process in the Cañar valley. CARC went through a very tense initial phase, because the various communities were neither involved in the project design nor equally represented. One of the most important projects was the construction of Culebrillas dam, which would affect fourteen existing canals.

Even though the proposed dam had more than enough capacity to feed four irrigation systems, canal users feared that the introduction of a new canal to Suscal would cause El Tambo to lose much of its water. Opposition also came from people wishing to protect the archaeological vestiges and natural beauty of Culebrillas. In 1992, an official delegation which went to Culebrillas was surrounded by 400 persons and forced to sign a document promising not to build the dam. On its way down to El Tambo, it was stopped by another group of armed farmers from Suscal and forced to sign a document promising that the dam would be built.

The dam was not eventually built in Culebrillas, but irrigation remained the cornerstone of the project. Several canals have been rehabilitated and a new one, Chontamarca, was constructed. Huge reservoirs have been built, and the smaller canals in fields and pastures have become more effective. Sprinkling systems have also been introduced. The importance of the project’s drinking water component was not fully realized until the outbreak of a cholera epidemic. CARC technicians and community members invented an “electric water” drinking system, which is a source of local pride. In addition, the project facilitated the flow of water to crops via the irrigation systems.

In the last five years, there has been an unprecedented mass exodus of the men, mostly to the United States and Spain. The women have to do all the work at home and in the fields, and some have even learned how to plough. CARC helped with technical assistance that enabled them to grow potatoes and use more efficient methods of guinea pig breeding. Also, since fewer women than men know how to read and write, CARC has introduced an adult literacy course as part of its efforts to get women organized. In addition, all internal training is indiscriminately directed towards men and women.

Considering the problems that the project has faced, it is amazingly difficult today to find criticism. People who are able to participate in CARC programmes tend to be grateful for the training and opportunities they have received.