"Travels with Vilma" or "What happens when the remote Andes town you are visiting goes on strike..."

Last week I traveled to the town of Espinar (approx. 13,000 ft altitude), to conduct a series of interviews with the people who are running the pilot conditional cash-transfer savings program there. I decided to focus my research project on the women who live in this region, because it is the only location where savings incentives (through the Sierra Sur program) and conditional cash transfers (through the Juntos program) are BOTH being offerred to people who are eligible, in addition to financial education. Whew, that was a mouthful. Anyways, I think there may be some interesting insights that will come out of the experience of these women -- what incentives are most compelling to them, whether or not they save a portion of their Juntos money, etc.

Which is how I found myself in Espinar on Monday afternoon, with my Quechua translator - a sweet woman named Vilma, who is from outside of Cusco and was formerly a participant in the Puno-Cusco Corredor program (the matched savings program that just ended in Peru). We arrived to find the town basically deserted, everything was closed and the streets were empty of any cars. We heard at the bus station on the way down that a strike had just started in Espinar, but strikes are pretty common in Peru so I wasn't entirely sure what this would mean for our weeklong visit. We got off the bus, and I stepped directly into a pile of poop while trying to get my bag. It was not an auspicious start. The bus dropped us off outside the city, so we walked through the streets with all our luggage, searching for the hotel.

The streets of Espinar. Note the rocks in the road, to prevent any taxis or buses from driving during the strike. Not entirely effective.

A cell phone shop underneath our hotel. Almost all the stores and restaurants in the town were closed on the outside, but occasionally people would come out from these little doors, or let you in if you knocked....it all felt very secretive.

After finding our hotel, I wandered around the town, and found out where all the people were: gathered in the main plaza for a rally. From what I could understand from the blend of Espanol and Quechua that was being spoken, the town was on strike because they want better control of the local water source (Apurimac River). Now they only have access to running water a few hours a day, and they are unhappy with how water is being distributed between Espinar and Arequipa, another region and much larger city to the south. It was interesting to see an entire town basically shut down and rally around a common cause (the word for strike in Spanish is "paro," literally "stop").

Vilma and I walking through Espinar at dusk, looking for the Sierra Sur project office

Even though transportation was hard to come by, Tuesday morning there were still some buses leaving for the countryside early in the morning, so we were able to get out of Espinar with some of the staff from the Sierra Sur program to attend a financial education class

We visited the community of Huayhuahuasi (a name I cannot pronounce), about an hour outside of Espinar and about as remote a place as I have ever been. Tuesday was market day, so there were some tents set up selling produce and some basic goods. There was very little infrastructure, save some cinder block and wooden homes, a school, and an outhouse. Everyone gave me a good stare.

Vilma and I interviewed the president of the local savings club (for the Sierra Sur project), who was also busy selling bags of coca leaves. She is also in the Juntos program, and is saving some of her Juntos money (from Banco de la Nacion) in her incentivized savings account (held at the microfinance insitution, Credinka). A good sign for efforts to link these two types of programs!

Women coming inside for the financial education class. Someone forgot to tell me that the red paint on the floors had not yet dried completely, which was an unhappy surprise when I sat on the ground shortly after taking this photo. Below, a woman's savings journal with a picture of the bank.

We had some interesting interviews with participants on Tuesday, and for the rest of the week stayed in Espinar to meet with program staff (and also bc there were no more buses leaving town). Since the people we were interviewing in Espinar worked for government social programs and banks, they were still working, so luckily we were able to meet with everyone. The rest of the town, however, was out in the streets marching and protesting. Apparently the strike had caused enough unrest to spur some local leaders to meet in Lima to discuss the water issues, but it didn't look the confilct was going to be resolved anytime soon. Even the ladies selling produce at the market had stopped working, meaning that restaurants were making due with what was available. So if you went to one of the three restaurants secretly "open" (after knocking on the door), you'd usually have the option of between one or two dishes.

One morning, we had fried orange trout for breakfast (over rice and potatoes and some cabbage-- this was the standard base for everything we ate in Espinar). Was actually quite tasty, sort of like salmon! I was craving some veggies and fruit after a week of this, though....

On Thursday, after finishing our interviews, we wanted to head back to Cusco. Everyone told us to leave on a late night bus, when less people would be in the streets (at that point, crowds of people were running after cars, yelling, throwing rocks, forcing stores to remain closed, etc). The only problem: the bus terminal was closed, and there was nowhere to buy tickets. We tried to call and reserve them, but this was impossible without actually paying for them.

As Vilma and I were plotting in the lobby about how to get out of Espinar, the cleaning lady at the front desk overheard our conversation and mentioned that she had gotten a bus out of town the night before, and knew where to catch them. She called the bus company for us but all the seats were "full." She then casually mentioned that the reason she had gotten on the bus was bc her mom is friends with the woman who sells the tickets. Now that got our attention. With some pleading and begging, we got her to come with us that night to show us where the buses were meeting (a closed gas station at the edge of town) and talk her family friend into letting us on the bus. There were too many people gathered for the two buses leaving that night, but the cleaning lady did her magic and convinced the ticket lady to let us on. The bus was able to get out and off to Cusco despite the piles of rocks strewn about the roads on the way out of town....

Hanging out with some friends who work for IPA (Innovations for Poverty Action), a U.S. based research organization, back in Cusco

It was such a relief to get out of strike-ridden Espinar....people told me I should just "wait it out" but apparently these types of strikes can go on for months. Since I'm going home for Thanksgiving on Thursday, I didn't consider that an option! However, I'll probably head back to Espinar this spring to do more interviews with participants -- hopefully by then the water rights issue will be somewhat resolved. Despite the challenges, it was a really interesting week of learning for me, and also forced me to step back and really appreciate all the small things I take for granted -- clean and plentiful drinking water, fresh produce, freedom to travel, to have a quality education, to experience other parts of the world. And mostly, my wonderful family and friends. I'll be thinking about all these things and more when Thanksgiving comes around this year.

Check out all of my photos of Espinar at my Picasa page: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen/EspinarSiteVisitAndStrike#

and of Cusco!:

http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen/CuscoWeekendsNovember2009#

Andahuaylas, Peru: Savings-linked CCT pilot program!

This past Thursday my coworker Johanna and I boarded a tiny plane in Lima to get to Andahuaylas, a small rural city in the Southern highlands:

You know you are on a tiny plane when a) The pilot gives the safety instructions, and needs to lean over bc the cabin isn’t big enough; b) Ear plugs are provided and need to be used; c) You have to sit sideways in order to fit your legs behind the seat in front of you; and d) There is no bathroom on the plane.

Thankfully it only lasted 1.5 hours and I went to the bathroom beforehand!

Once we arrived we took a taxi from the airport to Andahuaylas, a drive of about 45 minutes on upaved roads, with several cow and pig crossings on the way. Andahuaylas is an agricultural region, and the small city doesn't attract many tourists. We were headed to Andahuaylas to meet with the people running Juntos, the Peruvian Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, and representatives of Banco de la Nacion (the state bank), where the CCT participants' accounts are housed. For some background: Juntos just started in Peru two years ago, and offers women (with children under age 14) cash payments (of about $35 US per month) for four years if their children attend school and make visits to the local health center. Women in the program are very low-income and the additional income can compensate for having their children work instead of attend school.

All of the women in the program already have a savings account, but many seem to use it solely to withdraw cash transfers from the bank. The Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) is coordinating a pilot program with Juntos and Banco de la Nacion to incentivize women to save in their existing accounts, become more financially literate and comfortable with using financial institutions, and build financial and social assets.

Coca Tea + Diamox (Acetazalomide) = prevention for altitude sickness!

The pilot is being conducted among women with positive savings balances who are from the small town of San Jeronimo, about an hour outside of the city, who travel to Banco de la Nacion in Andahuaylas during the week when their transfers are available (which is one week per month). The incentives to save so far are minimal: a lottery every few months where the women with positive balances are eligible to win a prize, like a basket of food and household goods (this time there were two baskets given out), but there are plans to add on more financial incentives like those provided in the Sierra Sur program (the program I visited in Chivay) -- such as a match on initial deposit and subisidized interest rate -- in the future.

So, are the women in the pilot saving intentionally? It’s not clear yet, but it’s possible that accountholders already have positive savings balances because they have not withdrawn their transfers due to lack of knowledge or disinterest in the program, or because they aren’t willing or can’t make the trip to the bank every month and so let the transfers accumulate a few months before withdrawing. Many of the women in the program believe that it is better to come to the bank the first day that transfers are available, because they are concerned that their money won’t be available later in the week. As a result, the first day there is a huge line of women waiting to enter the bank that stretches down and around the block:

Financial Education trainers from AgroRural (the Dept of Agriculture) meet with participants in groups to teach them about their account and the program, but this has only been going on for about two weeks so far. Before the bank day, we met with tellers at the bank to teach them about the program and make sure they do not discourage the women from saving a portion of their transfer or making other transactions.

Me, program participants, and Fernando (coordinator for Juntos) in the main plaza

Many of the women travel over an hour to get to the bank, and then wait in line for several hours to make their withdrawal. However, it is also one of the only opportunities they have to meet with their peers, spend time in the city, and interact with formal institutions like the bank.

This woman had just been to the bank and showed us her account receipt: she had just saved 100 soles (approx. $35) out of the 200 soles in her account.

The women were very excited about the lottery, and all gathered in front of the stage to see who the winners were. Several women who had gone to the bank earlier that morning showed us that they had purposefully saved a portion of their transfer in their accounts, and showed us their bank receipts. Below, the senoras waiting to hear the winners of the lottery (the prize is on the stage):

Presenting the lottery winners

It was a really interesting site visit and great opportunity to learn about the opportunities and challenges of linking conditional cash transfer programs with savings incentives and financial education. San Jeronimo is one of two pilot sites – the other is outside of Cusco in Coporaque, where I will be headed in November. Women at this site are in both the Juntos program and the Sierra Sur savings program, so it should be an interesting place to interview participants.

After the lottery we went to lunch with the Juntos and Banco de la Nacion representatives – which included "cuy" (guinea pig) and "trucha naranja" (orange trout)! The next day I went to the Ruins of Sondor, which were built by the Chankas (before the Incas). At the top of the mountain, the Chankas used to do ritual human sacrifices. It is also the site were several people asked to have their photo taken with me….at first I thought they wanted me to take their photo, but nope. I think I was more of a tourist attraction for them than the ruins!

Check out all of my photos from the site visit in Andahuaylas at: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen/AndahuaylasSiteVisit#

On Sunday before returning to Lima, I went to the Andahuaylas feria, which stretches for miles (literally) along the river in town. It was truly a visual feast: mountains of produce, flowers, colorful yarns...and on and on. And unlike farmers markets in the U.S., everything here was very inexpensive! I devoted an entire photo album to it, in fact: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen/SundayMarketInAndahuaylas#

A note about Pardo's Chicken

In Lima, when you're hungry and don't feel like cooking, Peruvian chicken "a la brasa" is only one phone call away. Pardo's is the best, and has motorcycle drivers who will deliver a whole rotisserie chicken to your door (with fresh cooked beets, carrots, green beans, avocado, french fries, and Inca Kola) for $12. This is convenient for me, as these are my favorite foods. (My roommates in DC can attest to this fact. I used to eat Peruvian chicken from the place down the street in Adams Morgan more than was probably healthy. And that did not even compare....)

Me, Gabriela, Cristina, and Andrea with the Pardo's deliveryman. We are lazy, since Pardo's is four blocks away.

Not too shabby for fast food. Those sauces in the middle are spicy garlic, very good with Peruvian chicken. Inca Kola tastes like bubble gum, I think it's kind of gross but people here can't get enough of it.

What makes Pardo's chicken so very extra delicious? Some say it is crack. I say it is probably the slow roasting over hot coals, plus some high quality chickens. And lots of delicious flavoring on the crispy skin. The garlic sauces don't hurt, either. See Pardo's rotisserie below.

Weekend in Lima: Food and handicraft markets! GOLD!

So, the sun finally came out in Lima:) It's kind of like May in Seattle here right now-- the clouds have parted for about the first time in three months, and everyone you see on the street is smiling and just loving the feel of Vitamin D in their bones. It gets pretty grey here in the winter (June - September), but spring is approaching and when the sun hits the Pacific ocean you can really appreciate the miles and miles of coastline that stretch to the north and south of Lima. The blue in the distance is the ocean view from our apartment patio...hurrah! Also if you squint really closely you can make out a hanglider in the distance...they all take off from the cliffs in Miraflores.

I had some time this weekend to wander around Lima and explore. Saturday morning I went with Cristina to the "bio feria" at Parque Reducto, right by our apt. It is an open air market with all organic produce, whole grain products, and food. Lots of vegetarian items, which is rare in Peru. I bought some Inchi oil which apparently is another kind of "superfood" --lots of omega 3s. Tastes good too!

(The whole wheat empanadas with leeks were really good! I think this will become a Saturday ritual at our apartment....)

Saturday post-market I went to the Gold Museum with my friend Hannah, where we got to see some cool military relics (swords, guns, body armor) as well as a whole basement full of ancient gold masks, jewelry, and everyday items (gold cups and plates! a gold blanket/tapestry of some sort below)

(Lovely gold water jug. hahaha)

Today I went to the handicrafts market in downtown Miraflores, where you can check out lots of different vendors of Peruvian crafts, knitwear, and jewelry. It's a little touristy, but I found some really cool hand woven items from Ayacucho (mostly tablecloths and pillows) that are incredible! Love the colors and texture here.

On my way home I walked by Cafe Manolo, one of the oldest and most established sidewalk cafes in Miraflores. They have some intensely layered sandwiches and amazing looking churros in the window. This was the first place I had dinner when I got to Lima! I'll take anyone who comes to visits for some cafe and churros. That is a promise.

Check out the rest of my photos from this weekend on Picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen/WeekendInLima# Hasta pronto! -- B

Chivay, Peru: Sierra Sur site visit

Sorry for the delay in posting, and thanks to those who wanted an update....I'm excited that my mom is not the only one reading my blog! This past weekend I was in Chivay, Peru (altitude 12,000 ft) for a site visit to the Sierra Sur program. I went with a group organized by Proyecto Capital, which is an initiative to get Latin America’s conditional cash transfer programs (CCT) to encourage savings and inclusion in the banking system, in order to help the region’s poorest inhabitants develop financial security and assets. The group of 25 included representatives from CCT programs, banks, microfinance institutions, governments, and independent consultants -- who came from 7 different Latin American countries...(and, ahem, me from the US:)

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View from the airport; meeting with el grupo at our hotel in Chivay

Despite a pretty bad bad case of altitude sickness (hint: not a good idea to go from 0 to 12,000 feet within a few hours. Even with coca tea and lots of dramamine. Like a really bad hangover, except worse), I was able to make it to our site visit at the feria in Yanque, a small town in the Andes, where we got to meet with many of the savers in the program who were selling their amazing hand-woven alpaca products. In the afternoon we also had the opportunity to ask many of them more detailed questions about their experience in the program. It was amazing how much they knew about how the program/bank works (the subsidized interest rate, the opportunities to earn a savings match, etc) that they had learned through group financial education classes and using their accounts. It was also really cool to see their savings journals -- complete with hand woven covers, and carefully documented deposit and withdrawal receipts from the bank (they can withdraw funds with the incentives after 24 months). If you're interested in reading more about the Sierra Sur pilot program (which will serve 10,000 women), see this article in English! Also, check out my album on Picasa, where I have lots more photos of the site visit:

L to R, Clockwise: Women showing us their savings journals; las mujeres y yo - which one of these is not like the other?); "Journal of my savings;" documentation of deposits and withdrawals with bank receipts and fake money (I think to make the transactions more tangible); children with an alpaca in the plaza; corner store where you can add minutes to your cell phone

As a Side Note, an Embarrasing Story!

Saturday night I was feeling really bad/dehydrated, and in the middle of the night woke up to realize I had already drank all of my botttled water. I wasn't sure if the water was safe to drink and had forgoten my water purifier, so decided to call the front desk to see if they could bring me some bottled water because I was sick (it was freezing outside and I felt awful....) Anyways, the front desk guy seemed kind of confused and asked me if I'd like Coca-Cola. "No, please bring some water to room 111. Can you do that?" They did sell bottled water at the front desk, after all. The guy seemed doubtful and told me he would. Maybe he hadn't understood my Spanish.

View from the bus, driving from Chivay down to Arequipa

About 5 minutes later someone knocks on the door, and I answer in my pajamas. It is Arturo, the Peruvian consultant for Proyecto Capital. He is holding a bottle of agua sin gas that is about 1/5 full, which he apologetically offers to me. In confused, half-asleep Spanish I tell him thanks but it's ok, the guy at the front desk is bringing me water. Maybe he overheard the phone conversation at the front desk? I don't even ask, I'm that tired. I just go back to bed, and then a few minutes later hear another knock on the door. I open the door to find Arturo, looking cold and tired and wearing his jacket, holding out a newly purchased, cold bottle of agua sin gas. I happily accept his offer and gratefully thank him for the water, smile and close the door. I drink about half of it and go back to bed. No questions asked, just happy to have water.

Her first sighting of a redhead/any person as tall as me, I think!

The next night as we gathered at the airport in Arequipa (feeling much better at 8,000 ft) I start chatting with Arturo and realize that a) I had accidentally called his room in the middle of the night, and that b) He assumed I did it on purpose, and that I had wanted him to go buy me water after his initial water offering. haha. At least we both had a good laugh once I explained what I thought had occurred that night....oops!!!

Mistura: Peru's Gastronomic Festival

Top left: Gaston Acurio, uber-famous Peruvian chef and owner of several international restaurants, including Tanta, where we went for my bday!

This past weekend in Lima was Mistura 2009, Peru's annual Gastronomic Festival. It was really an amazing scene: 100s of vendors from all over the country (giving out samples!), markets with fresh produce and grains, famous chefs and restauranteurs (who are like rock stars here, no joke), cooking demonstrations and competitions, and samples of some of the best dishes from the best restaurants in the city....all for 20 soles entry (approx. $7 US). For lovers of food and fans of cooking (of whom there are many in Peru), it was pretty exciting stuff.

Check out more of my photos below and on Picasa at: http://picasaweb.google.com/barbrosen/Mistura200902

P.S. For those of you in Lima who didn't make it to Mistura, do not despair: this weekend is the National Pisco Festival and Competition! I'll be in Arequipa so unfortunately won't be there:)