Fundación Pueblo

With a stand-alone project for the advancement of women migrants from the countryside, the “House of the Future” of the Fundación Pueblo in El Alto transforms itself from a hostel into a meeting and training centre to teach self-awareness and everyday practical skills.

Women from the country deserve our special support

Even in the traditionally male-dominated Bolivia there has been in recent years encouraging progress with respect to the equality of women. Today educated women from the urban middle classes  have significantly more opportunities to use their own abilities and inclinations in the family, work and community.   In the country however the way to a solid basic education for a girl is  often difficult, access to technical training is blocked and respected employment opportunities are very few.

The Fundación Pueblo programs for  School Access  and Local Economic Development are making concrete contributions to the equality of women in the countryside, both in the family and in the community.  With Access to Vocational Training we have put girls and young women from the countryside at the forefront.

From working with the young women from the countryside, where we were able to provide a vocational education in recent years, an independent project for the advancement of women migrants from the countryside has now emerged in the “House of the Future”.

It builds on the experience and contacts we were previously able to gather, with our extracurricular program designed to give women important life practical knowledge and skills and to strengthen their self-confidence. In addition to the graduates of our vocational training program, the project is also addressed to migrant women who are approached by community-based organisations and non-governmental organisations in La Paz and El Alto.

Wall painting at our House of the Future in El Alto

From a hostel to a meeting place and training center

The project provides knowledge and skills in subjects that are important for strengthening the role of women in an extremely male-dominated society. These include courses on dealing with domestic violence, self-defence training as well as computer / Internet “driving licenses” and seminars in writing applications. We enable meetings with women from  political and social organisations that support families and women with specific issues. Every month an average of two events are offered in the “House of the Future,” the program design is continuously adapted to the needs of the participants. Popular radio channels, such as „San Gabriel“, help to carry the news to target groups in El Alto:

In recent years we have gradually developed and equipped common areas of the “house of the future” as ideal meeting and training rooms. For the ex-scholarship holders from recent years there is also accommodation available in functionally decorated bedrooms. So the “House of the Future” of the Fundación Pueblo in El Alto is quickly  changing from a hostel into the meeting place and training center for rural women.