Indian settlement

Final PES covers the period 3/79-9/82 and is based on an attached final report by the grantee. Despite several invalid design assumptions, a personnel shortage, and lack of cooperation by other organizations, the project had a positive impact and met or surpassed many of its targets. Agricultural subprojects (SP"s) included: settling 40 Indian families in 3 new villages and providing them with plows, horses, harnesses, access to wagons, and 50 ha of cleared land for cattle-raising SP"s (which did not succeed); establishing 8 district pre-cooperatives (not yet chartered) and a communal farmer service center with a 5-ton truck to carry produce to market (sales exceeded expectations), 3 full-time trained employees, cooperative stores, and a diesel service station; developing a prototype horse-drawn tool bar (which proved to be too heavy and expensive); helping 150 farmers unite in 6 groups to purchase tractors, ploughs, sowing machines, cultivators, etc.; establishing demonstration farm plots and providing extension services (e.g., training for farmers and extension agents in crop/livestock production, animal health, tractor use and maintenance); conducting heavy-soil crop production tests (grain and silage sorghum, cotton, clover, and caster and lab-lab beans proved most suitable). To improve farm/market/village access, over 137 km of roads were built/improved. Health improvements focused on: training village women in nutrition and 6 Indian health promoters in public health; conducting nutritional surveillance of 80% of children under 5 years old (overall status improved under the project); and, with mixed results, testing dogs for TB (suspected of spreading to humans). Efforts to establish a foodmix plant and distribute peanut flour were unsuccessful. The education component included: constructing 3 schools; providing short and 6-month adult education courses (basic and skills-oriented) and teacher training; and producing Spanish and Indian-language textbooks. To improve inter-village and district cooperation, 30 conferences and leadership courses were held.