{"id":203917,"date":"2023-12-04T12:51:21","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T12:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?page_id=203917"},"modified":"2025-09-10T10:41:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T10:41:07","slug":"connecting-the-indigenous-women-of-the-south-american-chaco","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/issues\/community-networks\/success-stories\/south-american-chaco\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting the Indigenous Women of the South American Chaco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Connecting the
Indigenous Women of
the South American Chaco<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
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A young woman places produce on top of a large wooden table. She starts with the heads of lettuce, then adds tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and bright orange clementines. One of the visitors from the nearby town smiles at the sight, deciding to try a small clementine. \u201cVery sweet,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the first harvests of organic produce grown in Puesto Garc\u00eda, thanks to information farmers discovered using their new Internet connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI learned a lot, and I still want to learn much more,\u201d said Elizabeth Pacheco, one of the women behind the endeavor. \u201cI set myself a goal to grow organic crops, and I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Puesto Garc\u00eda is a village of approximately 700 people. Although few in numbers, they are responsible for growing crops that feed hundreds of people in nearby towns, with their distribution network extending all the way to parts of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia\u2019s largest city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have identified a new market of people seeking to eat healthier with less environmental impact, and organic produce is their biggest asset. But it\u2019s not always easy to go organic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe planted potatoes, but we tried and tried, and they wouldn\u2019t grow properly. A friend of mine also had the same issue with her crops, so I told her, \u2018Let\u2019s go to the NANUM center and do research,\u2019\u201d said Elizabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NANUM Center in Puesto Garc\u00eda is one of the connectivity hubs developed by the NANUM Mujeres Conectadas<\/a> (NANUM Connected Women) initiative in the Gran Chaco region of South America. Led and managed locally, this community network is the key they were missing to unlocking new economic opportunities. <\/p>\n<\/div>

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Partnering to Connect
the Women of the Gran Chaco<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Gran Chaco area spans four countries: Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a small part of Brazil. It\u2019s home to several Indigenous peoples, like the Guaran\u00ed, the Toba, and the Wenhayek peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some urban areas in the Chaco have Internet connectivity, others just a few kilometers away are left behind. It is expensive to build the infrastructure, and many Internet service providers (ISPs) do not make enough profit to justify the investment, so they avoid connecting these areas entirely. As a result, entire populations are cut off from the opportunities the Internet brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the ever\u2014growing digital divide between rural areas and urban, agrarian communities in the Gran Chaco are also threatened by climate change, ongoing land\u2014grabbing, and deforestation. Relying primarily on agriculture to survive, they want meaningful Internet connectivity to help them bolster existing economic opportunities, find alternative economic ones, have their voices heard, and build resilience.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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That\u2019s where the NANUM Mujeres Conectadas project was critical. Familiar with sustainability issues and Indigenous communities in South America, organizations like Fundaci\u00f3n Avina and Nativa joined forces with other non\u2014profit organizations, local enterprises, and global businesses to start the project in 2020. It has focused on building the digital skills of Indigenous women by developing telecenters in communities across the Chaco even since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Knowing how to use the Internet this huge door that leads to generating knowledge and being capable of innovating in each of the territories we work on. It brings economic development.\u201d<\/div>