Adapting to a Changing World in Rural Bolivia

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Bolivia | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 4 photos

My partner and I recently traveled to a village in rural Bolivia, several hours out of Sucre. We visited the village with the matriarch of the local Hacienda (Spanish for 'farmstead'). The Hacienda was originally constructed in the late 16th century and the village was formed around it as people arrived looking for work. The industrialisation of agriculture in the region has reduced the Hacienda to a very small operation and there is no longer enough work for the villagers. Instead, the women of the village create traditional weavings to sell to Bolivia's burgeoning tourism industry and to provide a livelihood for their families. Unfortunately, weaving causes significant strain on the women's bodies causing an early onset of arthritis. The new generation of girls in the village is looking to education to provide them with new opportunities.

My main goal as a photographer is to show stories to people at home that they would otherwise know nothing about. While I have a passion for the content of the photographs, I would like to learn more about the technical planning and construction of the them in order to tell a more succinct and elegant story.