Gretchen Hernandez, a recent SFU graduate with a PhD in geography, has been passionately involved in a Community Economic Development (CED) program for Bolivia’s Indigenous peoples since 2007.
The training program, which was initiated by Hernandez, has helped 4,000 Bolivians, including indigenous leaders, municipal officials, and organisations map out their own paths of development.
Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, the program aims to help communities as well as leaders work together to build on their available resources and improve their environmental and socio-economic conditions.
Hernandez, whose research focuses on the way the indigenous people of Bolivia are creating collective economic pursuits, is excited and inspired to continue her work as a social entrepreneur.
The Peak: How did you get involved with this project?
Gretchen Hernandez: I was a volunteer in 2003, and I saw a need for this kind of training in economic development. I made a link to SFU from someone I know and then I wrote a funding proposal and created this program.
P: Can you explain a bit about the training program?
GH: We established an innovative training program in Bolivia with Bolivian development professionals that brought together into one classroom all kinds of people, such as leaders from organizations, professionals, [and] people who work in the government. [. . .] The classroom creates a kind of a neutral space away from politics, so that people can get together and discuss what they can do to better the community.
P: What do you hope it will achieve?
GH: My real goal [is] to create economic justice and share knowledge. I was interested in redistribution so that people who are marginalized or on the outside and don’t benefit as much from economic assistance can take control of their lives and reap more benefits from sustainable development.
P: What is the most significant or memorable thing about taking part in this initiative for you?
GH: The big milestone was when the government there changed, and the Indigenous people had to be more powered; the indigenous leader just walked into our office and said, “this is the training that people might need.” From there, our program took off into this whole different area of working with Indigenous people in rural areas.
One of the most memorable things said to me by those people: ‘’We came into this program thinking that we are poor and we came out knowing we are rich, rich in land, in culture, in our social relationships, in our knowledge. And now we know that and we don’t have to wait for someone else to come and make things better for us’’.
P: What’s next for you?
GH: I’m working with communities in one region to develop business plans for small agricultural ventures for Indigenous people, so that they can reach markets with their agricultural products. I have also started working on internship programs. We are going to send Canadian interns to work over there and I have also been hired as a faculty member at SFU in the Faculty of Environment. My job is to identify new research, training and international development opportunities in Latin America for SFU students and faculty.
P: Any particular message you would like to share with the readers?
GH: I just want to tell them that I think international cooperation is really the way that we can make a difference in the world. We can get to know each other and inspire each other to make the world a better place.
