Pando is the department (state) located at the northern part of Bolivia in the Amazonian. The Texas crew will be working in the villages of San Antonio de Maty, Batraja, and Jerico.
Although Pando is rich in natural resources, it is one of the poorest departments in the country. The poverty level of their inhabitants is high, due to the lack of ways of communication. There are few roads between the communities and the road that connects the capital of the department to the rest of the country is not completely paved and is not accessible during the whole year.
It is currently estimated that approximately 55,000 inhabitants of Pando live without access to electricity.
Supporting people of this region in expanding the existing network to provide them electricity could mean a major contribution to improve their quality of life and open doors of opportunities for them in the future. In this sense, the communities of San Antonio de Maty, Batraja, and Jerico were identified in coordination with ENDE-Cobija and the Government of Pando as potential electrification projects.
17 men from 6 Texas electric cooperatives made their way to the city of Cobija in Pando, Bolivia for an electrification project to the people of the region. While in Bolivia, the team will build approximately 5 miles of electric line, bringing electricity to 125 families, schools, and a clinic. We will post daily updates of the progress the team has made on this electrification project in Bolivia.
After nearly two full weeks of long days, hot temperatures, and great deal of hard teamwork, the Texas team completed all of the clean up work on Friday morning, 11/17. After that, we all headed back to Puerto Rico to take the afternoon to relax before the big inauguration ceremony in San Antonio del Matty. […]
Read MoreAfter nearly two full weeks of long days, hot temperatures, and great deal of hard teamwork, the Texas team completed all of the clean up work on Friday morning, 11/17. After that, we all headed back to Puerto Rico to take the afternoon to relax before the big inauguration ceremony in San Antonio del Matty. […]
On Thursday, 11/16, our team headed back out to San Antonio del Matty for our final full day of work. We finished building all of the meter loops for all of the homes, and began cleaning up some odds and ends around the village. From there, one crew headed back to Jerico to finish some […]
On Wednesday, 11/15, the team headed back to Jerico to finish building the last few meter loops in the village. By mid-morning we completed every meter loop in the village and made our way to the third and final village, San Antonio del Matty. We started building meter loops in San Antonio and by the […]
On Tuesday, 11/14, the team was back in Batraja to finish building meter loops. We were met with a scorcher – barely any cloud cover, and our afternoon showers have gone elsewhere, leaving us with extremely hot and humid conditions. By early afternoon, every single meter loop was completed in the village, which will eventually bring […]
After a long first week of travel and hard work, the team took Sunday, 11/12, off to relax. One of our translators, Angie, surprised the group with a fishing trip up the local river, courtesy of the Bolivian River Navy. On the way back, the motor suddenly gave out, and the group had to paddle […]
On Saturday, 11/12, our team began work in the 3rd village of San Antonio del Matty. Similar to the village of Jerico, the village is smaller, however, the people of San Antonio were extremely friendly and welcoming of our team. Before we were able to step off the bus, many locals were already on their […]
On Friday, 11/10, our crew was back at work again in the village of Batraja. There was heavy rain early on, but thankfully, it let up right as we arrived and began preparing for the day. The team was able to finish hanging all of the secondary electric wire throughout the town before calling it […]
On Thursday, 11/9, our team headed back to Batraja to begin work in the village. Batraja is the largest of the three villages we will be working in on this trip. Today we were met by one of the directors of the government run electric utility, who was very grateful for the work we will […]
After a good breakfast, the Mayor of Puerto Rico, Bolivia arrived to greet us and thank us for all of the work we will be doing here for his people. Our team was off to a great start today as we embarked on our first full day of work. We arrived in the village of […]
Earlier today, Mid-South Synergy sent a group of 5 to the Department of Pando, Bolivia for an electrification project in rural villages in this region. We are extremely proud of our men who volunteered to to lead this project, partnering with 5 other electric cooperatives from Texas. All together, the Bolivia team is made up […]
A look at some of the images during our electrification project in Bolivia.
NRECA International was established in November 1962 when the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and the newly-established U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an inaugural cooperative agreement in the White House Oval Office in a ceremony witnessed by President John F. Kennedy. This began NRECA’s overseas involvement to share lessons learned in the electrification of the rural United States with developing countries around the world.
Serving as a non-profit corporation, NRECA International is committed to improve the quality of life for rural communities in developing economies by providing access to reliable and affordable electricity. For more than 50 years, 120 million people in 43 countries have benefitted from thier work, and many lives in rural communities have improved in the form of agricultural productivity, improved healthcare, new jobs in micro and small enterprises, and higher incomes and quality of life.
This electrification project would not have been made possible without the wonderful efforts and support of many organizations, directors, friends, and family. We want to extend a thank you to NRECA International for making this project possible and for their continued efforts to improving the quality of life to rural communities in developing economies across the world. Thank you to Techline, Inc. for coordinating the donation of materials that were used on this project. Thank you to the CEO’s, Boards of Directors, and support staff from all participating cooperatives.