Indigenous Women Planting and Harvesting Rainwater: An Intercultural Alternative for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Andes of Peru - Peru

This activity is combining the worldview of indigenous peoples with modern water management, such as risk management, the use of sprinklers to derive generated water for irrigation, the use of satellite imagery for assessing land, temporal recharge and water monitoring. It is implementing ancient and modern knowledge and practices to help rural families protect themselves and their livelihoods from climate change.

Fast facts:

To date, 100 artificial lakes have been built that store more than 1.5 million cubic meters of rainwater;
650 springs have been rehabilitated and 100 hectares of wetlands have been reclaimed and extended;
5,000 hectares of grasslands have been improved on communal lands and family plots and 120 hectares have been forested and reforested;
Soil moisture (water available in the soil) has improved and the water recharge rates of aquifers have been increased by over 50%;
70 hectares of pasture were planted and 200 sprinkler irrigation systems were installed and managed by women;
850 women directly benefited from and participated in this activity.

The problem

Climate change is exacerbating water availability issues in the High Andes of Peru. Rainfall is not reaching people on the hillsides, springs are disappearing and rivers are experiencing decreased flow. Due to this, the rituals and traditions of indigenous peoples are being lost as they face threats of food and water scarcity, eroding soils, decreased crops and loss of biodiversity.

The solution

At the onset of this activity, the focus was placed on recovering ancestral knowledge and ritual practices for water husbandry, as well as strengthening community organization. Later on, artificial lakes were constructed and springs and wetlands were recovered. Sprinkler irrigation systems were installed and more pasture was planted, resulting in an increase in farm and livestock production. People are now more environmentally aware, their incomes have increased and education has improved. Young people have become involved in this communal process and the community has engaged in in political advocacy at the district, regional and national levels, influencing policies for adaptation to climate change.

Helping the planet

Harvesting rainwater is an ancestral practice for optimizing water use and conservation efforts, and takes pressure off of rivers and springs. Communities have now returned to that practice and have made it a cornerstone for the recovery of small-scale Andean agriculture.

Helping people

This activity actively engages women, with 94% of participants being women. The project orients its assistance to women so that they become the direct and responsible beneficiaries tasked with administering assistance to their communities. Women organize communities into “ayllu” (groups of families) to determine water use. They also participate in community planning and decision making, and control the progress of communal services and its financial management. At the “ayllu” level (groups of families), the activity has supported the organization of self-help groups for construction work and for “aynis” (collective work). Agricultural tools and materials for the installation of irrigation systems, the rental of heavy machinery, the production of plants, conducted training and awareness-building workshops has all been provided by the activity.

Scaling Up

This activity has been scaled up across Quispillaccta. It has been extended to the districts of Chuschi, Sarhua, Vinchos and Paras and implemented across the headwater basin of the Cachi and Pampas rivers. This activity gained nationwide publicity when it was awarded the National Environment Award by the Peruvian government.