Fair Trade in South America

Bolivia’s decentralization program, the Law of Popular Participation (LPP) put governance into the hands of the people by creating hundreds of small municipalities where local groups could elect officials to and democratically direct their own development. LPP laid the groundwork for Fair Trade in Bolivia through its use of Grassroots Territorial Organizations (OTB) in the LPP process. OTBs gained legal recognition and sent members to municipal Vigilance Committees (CV) to approve and oversee local projects. By receiving legal recognition and participating in local governance, OTBs became more sophisticated in their own organizing and development. There were many different types of OTBs such as mothers’ clubs; youth groups; health and nutrition gardening groups; indigenous groups; musician groups; artisan groups such as potters, knitters, and furniture makers; agrarian groups such as coffee farmers and banana growers; and labor groups. Well organized and accessible, OTBs were easy recipients of aid-based business development initiatives. (See chapter 3 for more information on LPP and OTBs).