At 13,000 ft. elevation, almost nothing grows in the Altipalno of Bolivia. Local diet is limited to a variety of potatoes, quinoa and a few other high-altitude grains. Over the years the CHOICE team has been working to perfect an appropriate technology for greenhouse construction that captures sufficient heat from the sun during the day to maintain fragile fruit and vegetable plants inside as they grow from seedlings to maturity.

Lettuce is one of these plants that cannot survive the harsh climate of the Altiplano unless grown inside a greenhouses. For this reason, truckloads of lettuce are brought up the long dusty road from the tropical lowlands of the Amazon Basin. By the time the fragile lettuce arrives in La Paz (days later) the produce is in poor condition, often wilted and dirty.

CHOICE has been assisting families and communities on the Altiplano to build and utilize our greenhouse technology to grow cash crops for sale to the local market.

As a result, the reputation for fresh, high quality lettuce now coming from these communities has reached a demanding market with the high-end restaurants in La Paz. Now our communities are the preferred suppliers of fresh lettuce and other vegetables to the elite of the country.

This is bringing in extra income for the communities and is building on economic development which is key to alleviating poverty. Your support allows this work to continue in Bolivia. Thank you so much for supporting these villagers and for making a real difference!

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