In 1962, NRECA International initiated its first rural electrification project in Bolivia. Since then, NRECA International has helped establish and provide technical assistance to the world’s largest electric cooperative in Santa Cruz, as well as 12 other electric cooperatives throughout the country. These cooperatives now serve nearly 50 percent of Bolivian electricity consumers. NRECA International continues to electrify rural communities in Bolivia using funding from USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program. Food for Progress allows NRECA International to monetize donated agricultural commodities to fund key rural electrification projects that will benefit 4,000 rural households, clinics, schools, and businesses in 80 villages of the Yungas Valley.

Rural Dreams in the Yungas Valley

Bolivia is a land of extremes. Beyond the spectacular mountains that enfold the capital city of La Paz, the landscape descends dramatically in to semitropical valleys and tropical lowlands. In stark contrast to the illuminated homes of wealthy city dwellers, many rural Bolivians remain in the dark.