Celestino Virelo serves as the elected captain of his
community.
Photo: Patsie Sweedon |
Celestino Virelo is one of many Guarani farmers whose lives have changed dramatically in the 45 years he has lived. He worked for many years in virtual slavery as a laborer under the hacienda system. With the help of Center of Regional Studies for Development of Tarija (CER-DET), a CWS partner in the Chaco region of Bolivia, he and his neighbors engaged in an eleven-year struggle for the right to land of their own. Now, with a land title granted in 2004, Celestino and his community are free to develop and improve their land.
Celestino, who serves as the elected captain of his community, reflects on the changes, "We stopped being laborers and started being a community. We started living without fear.”
Under the guidance of CER-DET’s agronomists and veterinarians, five farm families have formed a collective to raise cattle and feed-grasses in fenced fields on 125 acres. Traditionally cattle roam free to forage. This project demonstrates that better land management is more productive and uses less land per animal than the open range system.