La cominidad abandonada

An abandoned school. An abandoned church. An abandoned community. In only seven or eight years.

September 2005. A Canadian group came to a small community called Patujusal 2 in the jungles of Bolivia. The logging company had built a road a couple of months before by taking n earth mover and ploweing the trees out. No one lived in the community since there was no water. Instead, they ived with family or on a small lot in the nearest community, Patujual 1.

It was jungle. The men had cleared small plots of land for corn and rice. Everything was done manually. There were no vehicles other than bicycles. A micro bus came in to Patjusal 1 but it did not have a consistent schedule due road conditions. They had great plans for their community – a school, a church, a well developed community.

February 2012. The school in Patujusal is closed since they are not enough students. The few
families who were supporting the school have moved to either La Pista or Yapacani. There is only one couple and one family left in church community. The rest have moved to town for an easier life and for a better education for their children. They are closer to hospitals. They have electricity and water. There are less insects and less disease problems. They can watch television.

An abandoned community.

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With a bit of assistance through micro credit and couple of good seasons with their crops, many earned enough enable an easier life. The first purchase was a motorbike, which enabled the men to make the trip in a day instead of walking to the bus stop to leave at 5 in the morning, enduring a 4 hour bus ride, and then returning at 7 in the evening and walking home. The second purchase was a lot in town on which they could build a brick house. Since the farm was not considered a permanent residence, improvements were not made on the house there.

Farming also changed. Large tracts of land have been cleared with earth movers and the farmers hire contract operators that own a line of farming equipment to do all the work. The farmers come to the community about once a week, monitor the crop, arrange for the work to be done, nd return to town. Rarely does the family return to the farm, even during school vacations.

The people are able to live relatively comfortably in town with the money made on the farm. Some of the men will operate a moto taxi; some women will run a produce stand or start a small business selling bread, juices, or treats. As the family becomes more economically secure, this also is abandoned. They become ‘sunshine inspectors’.

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How does one ‘develop’ a community without people? In the Patujusal 2 community there are two permanent residents – and both of them are gringos. There are no more neighbours. It makes us wonder about the impact that we have had on the community and about our future.

One is never sure exactly how one impacts a community. Was our time here a benefit or a detriment – or maybe a bit of both? Did we really make any difference? Maybe we will never know. We do know that our being here changed the community. There are those that want us
to stay; there are those that want us to leave. Some think we have not given enough to the community; others think that we helped them. Much depends on expectations. We believe that the community and the church must be self-sustainable. Therefore, we have not given out ‘hands outs’ and we have not become part of the decision makers. This has been difficult in a culture where hand outs are expected and where it is also expected that we would make the
decisions in the church. If only we had known then what we know now!

So what are we going to do? This past year has been a time of change, of indecision. Should be go back home? Should we move to another country? Should we stay in Bolivia? Throughout this year it is clear that our work is finished where we are. Although I hate to admit it, the churches are probably weaker than when we came. Before they were doing things on their own, but now they want me to do lead and do the preaching. The school is gone, the people are gone –
there is not much left for us. We could be like the others and move to Yapacani but that does not fit in with our vision of taking care of the land as a gift from God. We either stay or farm or we move. That is the decision we are making. Please remember us in your prayers as we ponder this transition.