CED times

This week, the CED (Community Economic Development) group whom I am working with, held various graduation ceremonies - in La Paz, the city of Oruro and the community of Viacha - for those who have finished a complete series of courses in the CED program over the past few years.

These courses are designed with and to convey the principles of community economic development which includes participatory involvement in order to maintain a bottom-up approach to economic development. Furthermore, CED also focuses on the idea that "capital" does not only imply "economic" but that it also includes other various forms such as physical, natural, human, cultural and social, and that these other forms of capital also support the richness of a community.

During these ceremonies, it was very moving to hear testimonials from the graduates about what CED means to them and how they are looking to apply it further in their lives. Additionally, graduates also shared successful implementation of the CED process in current, thriving projects that participants have begun since taking these courses.

Personally, these were great opportunities for me to learn more about the CED program in the Bolivian context and its utility for people and their communities. It was also a moment to meet members of Viacha with whom I will more than likely be meeting and working with over the next couple of months. This included having a lovely conversation with a young mother in the community whose husband is a recent graduate of the program. This lady expressed such desire to participate in the next course set as she really appreciates having educational opportunities in her own community and sees how much she could benefit from the program. She would have taken the program with her husband, only she was carrying their now 6-month old son.

This was also the opportunity to learn and be included in both Bolivian and indigenous cultural traditions. This included learning about how and when events take place (they can start when people get there - which can be quite some time after the "official" start time), social/cultural etiquette (accepting offerings of drinks or food, as well as pouring some of your drink on the ground in honour of the Pachamama or Mother Earth, sharing glasses with others in the community), as well as Ayni - the Andean act of reciprocity.
Finally, I was touched to be presented with a necklace of coca leaves as well as having confetti showered over my head by one of the graduates. Intercultural learning at its best.