PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 4 The wayq'os (gullies) are eating everything!' Indigenous knowledge and soil conservation

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 4 `The wayq'os (gullies) are eating everything!' Indigenous knowledge and soil conservation Graham Thiele and Franz Terrazas The gullies out simultaneously in Cebada Jichana and Dami Rancho, which were designed to help Farmers in the communities of Cebada Jichana farmers to resolve the problem themselves. and Dami Rancho in Cochabamba, Bolivia are Methods threatened by the growth of numerous gullies. As farmers' leader Guillermo Orellana explained "the wayq'os (gullies) are eating Some months before PRA fieldwork began, we everything". If nothing is done farmers will be explained the proposal to community members left with islands of land in a sea of gullies. The and they agreed to take part. On our arrival, to problem is common in other areas of Bolivia begin five days of intensive fieldwork, we too. explained more carefully what we hoped to do in a community meeting. The village leaders PROINPA the Bolivian Potato Research assigned participants to work with us on each Programme, has been working for three years day's activities. The first day we began with with farmers in the communities to control the `ice-breaker' activities. We asked farmers to biggest gullies with gabions and trees. scratch maps ...