Visiting Jaillihuaya was just as interesting as I thought it would be. When I first traveled through the Altiplano on the way to Tiuhuanacu, I didn’t notice the land use patterns. The farms seemed pretty big to me. Seeing the communal plots of land today really changed my perspective. It is much more different from Santa Cruz than I thought.
It was also sad to visibly see climate change affecting the Altiplano. It was especially visible with the lack of snow on the cordillera. What makes it all the more sad is that the people that are affected in the Altiplano have no control. Countries like the US, China, and India produce the most carbon and it has a huge impact on people thousands of miles away. Our actions can have an affect on people without most of us ever realizing. That being said, I thought the method for protecting plants was ingenious, and I have no doubts that people will continue to adapt.
Notes from Bolivia 
I was impressed with the “climate hacking” project (as I called it) when I first learned about it. That opens up a host of possibilities: What kind of “climate hacking” could we do, back home?
It’s also interesting how we see differently the same place (the altiplano) from a distance (driving through) and close up (spending hours there). That’s the beauty of fieldwork. I’m glad you noticed that.
LikeLike