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January 8, 2003 As dawn creeps into the Bolivian Andes, the village malku and mama t' halla begin their journey. As elected male and female leaders of their community, they will complete a two-month circuit of dozens of villages like their own, seeing to peoples' needs and checking in on every aspect of their lives, from ensuring that their potatoes are protected from the ensuing frost to offering marital and childrearing advice. A CONAMAQ-facilitated workshop to train ayllu leaders in the highlands provinces of Bolivia.
At 13,000 feet above sea level there are no trees, only groves of rocks and spiny vegetation that cling stubbornly to the mountain surface to avoid the whipping winds. The villagers have adapted over thousands of years, constructing their homes with adobe and mud, and cultivating hardy strains of potatoes and livestock to feed their families and bring in some desperately needed cash.
The malku and mama t'halla are leaders of their ayllu, an ancient form of community organization that predates the Incan empire. Ayllus are villages brought together by ties of kinship and governed by community members who take turns leading committees, supervising agriculture, livestock, housing construction, water distribution, and other community needs. | |
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