Location
The Peru interviews were based in two locations, Ramos and Cheto, in the Amazonas region of northern Peru. Some of the narrators are descendants of the Aguarunas and Chachapoya indigenous groups.

Ramos is a remote village of approximately 45 families located 30 minutes away on foot from the larger community of Santa Rosa, in the province of Rodríguez de Mendoza. No one in the village owns a vehicle and the road is in a poor condition. Cheto, in Chachapoyas province, is larger than Ramos, having an estimated 600 inhabitants. It is more easily accessible by road and is located 125 kilometres away from the provincial capital Chachapoyas.

Livelihood options
In both villages the main livelihood is farming. In Ramos most people are subsistence farmers, and the main source of cash income is the cultivation and marketing of pineapples. As no one Ramos owns a vehicle they are dependent on intermediary buyers coming to their village to buy the pineapples. In Cheto, people are involved with animal husbandry as well as subsistence farming.

Food security is an issue and both locations have government-assisted initiatives to address this, such as Comedor Popular (Dining House Committee) in Cheto and El Vaso de Leche (The Glass of Milk programme) in Ramos. These programmes assist the poorest and the most vulnerable members of the population, such as pregnant women, children and the elderly. Both programmes rely on groups of organized women at village or neighbourhood level, who administer the funding, enrol the beneficiaries and cook and distribute the food. Comedor Popular receives support in the form of oil, rice, beans, groceries and fish from the National Program of Food Support (PRONAA), which is a branch of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Facilities and services/infrastructure
Ramos has a primary school, but to access secondary education children have to move elsewhere. Even Santa Rosa, the nearest sizeable community, does not have a secondary school. In Cheto, a new school has been established which provides both primary and secondary education. People in the village see this as a great improvement, as previously children in Cheto usually only completed primary level education.

To reach a health post people in Ramos have to walk to Santa Rosa. This health post serves other villages in addition to the people of Ramos. Cheto has its own health post but many villagers travel to the provincial capital Chachapoyas to access better medical care. A pressing issue in both villages is the cost of health services, as subsistence farmers find it hard to gather the necessary cash.

Ramos has recently accessed electrical power, but at the time of writing (October 2010) it only works for three hours a night.

Challenge:  creating livelihoods and local business
The limited opportunities within Ramos and the lack of secondary school facilities forces young people to move away to cities to find further education and work. Currently, staying in Ramos offers no employment options other than engaging in pineapple cultivation, which is hardly profitable. The village’s remoteness, difficulty in accessing markets and the lack of agricultural support services to tackle recurrent pests and diseases means farmers cannot save enough to invest in improvements.

Similarly, in Cheto, people are striving to establish alternative sources of income to ensure the viability of the area. Establishing businesses which employ local people and utilize local produce is seen as the way forward. One narrator has done just this, building up a successful small factory (La Chetina) making yoghurt and other milk-based products, employing local people and using fruits and milk supplied by nearby farmers.

The partner organisation
Calandria is a civil society organisation specialising in communication for development.  Founded in Lima in 1979, it uses communication in social, political and economic contexts in order to strengthen democratic institutions and support development in Peru. Calandria develops and shares communication strategies and products in a variety of media  in order to promote public debate and dialogue, and enhance diversity, gender equality and social inclusion.  It provides training, produces a range of communication materials, evaluates the use of local media and supports the creation of public spaces for young people to communicate with each other and with different generations.
After consultation with community members the local partner used the Panos London community grant to supply agricultural tools in Ramos, including 48 scythes. In Cheto, it supported the local business La Chetina, by supplying 1 litre plastic bottles and buckets for storing milk.