Meetings, meetings and more meetings

I will not spend much time in Cochabamba in November. I was in La Paz for five days and am then heading to Potosi region for various projects.

My series of meetings kicked off with a visit to Achacachi, near Lake Titicaca, to meet the Milk Producers Association. My boss and I were slightly nervous as we had been warned on numerous occasions about the fiery Aymaran indigenous community who inhabit this zone. There was even a case of cannabilism reported two years ago. Like so often, the warnings were wide of the mark and we were welcomed warmly, there was considerable excitement about the project and we hope to begin installing 27 biogas systems in early December (rainy season permitting).

Monday and supposedly tuesday were to be spent at a Government organised workshop on the theme of desertification. It was so boring I decided to leave my boss to it after half a day and do a bit of sightseeing. They were going to spend two days discussing how to set up a network across the country rather than actually get around to discussing the problem. Tedious.

Our third meeting was much more productive: it only lasted three hours, was interesting and to the point (about how to promote renewable energy amongst small-scale farmers and other small businesses. I do not like stereotyping but perhaps I should not have been surprised, the workshop was after all organised by the German development agency GTZ.

While I was "enjoying" 10 hours in the coach back to Cochabamba – extended by three hours due to the need to take a detour to miss some localised protest - my boss had to endure a 40 minute flight. Alright for some!