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urban growth and planning was taking <strong>of</strong>f. By the early 1970s, PaulDoughty (1970) estimated that there were about 5000 migrant associationsin the metropolitan area <strong>of</strong> Lima. 6 These associations can be distinguishedfrom other types <strong>of</strong> voluntary associations, such as sports clubs, churches,political parties and social clubs, by their strong identification with theplaces <strong>of</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> particular migrant groups. 7 Each association or club isidentified by the name <strong>of</strong> a village, town, district or region and normallyrestricts membership to persons born in the locality or who have closeconnections to it (for example, through marriage or having lived there).Although the range <strong>of</strong> activities and frequency <strong>of</strong> interaction amongmembers may vary considerably from club to club, the declared aims <strong>of</strong>each are usually expressed in terms <strong>of</strong> furthering the social, economic and/or political interests <strong>of</strong> the home community and <strong>of</strong> maintaining regularcontact among migrants resident in the city. Many associations organizesocial activities such as dances and sports competitions, participatein religious fiestas which are celebrated in the home area and/or in theurban localities where they now live. Members meet regularly to plan andsponsor development projects for their home communities. Such projectsrange from major infrastructural projects such as the building <strong>of</strong> roads,bridges and hydroelectric plants 8 to more modest renovations <strong>of</strong> municipalbuildings, churches and the like. In addition, through the networks <strong>of</strong>members, who are likely to be related by kinship, affinity and compadrazgo(co-parenthood), individuals from the same village or region (paisanos)may help each other in finding employment or assist when someone issick or suffers bereavement. Some clubs also operate loan facilities, babysitting circles, and work parties for the construction <strong>of</strong> meeting places orfor other group projects in the city.2.3 At the Turn <strong>of</strong> the New MillenniumIn 1997, we initiated a restudy 9 <strong>of</strong> translocal livelihoods and organizationsin the Mantaro region. By <strong>this</strong> time, it was clear that important shifts had6<strong>La</strong>ter Altamirano (1984) recalculated the figure, concluding that there were as many as 6000; butsince then it seems that they have increased again by another 1000 (Doughty 1997,79).7In <strong>this</strong> respect they can be compared to the “hometown” organizations reported in other parts <strong>of</strong><strong>La</strong>tin America and the U.S., as well as to similar urban associations based on ethnic or villageaffiliation in Africa.8See, for example, Adams’ (1959) and Grondin’s (1975) accounts <strong>of</strong> how migrant groups fromthe village <strong>of</strong> Muquiyauyo in the Mantaro valley raised a large part <strong>of</strong> the funds and recruitedspecialist engineers for the installation <strong>of</strong> a community-owned hydroelectric scheme.9The research was supported by NIRP (The Netherlands–Israel Research Program) and wascoordinated by myself and Pieter de Vries (Wageningen University), Teófilo Altamirano (CatholicUniversity, Lima) and Moshe Shokheid (Tel-Aviv University, Israel). Two Peruvian PhDresearchers (Carla Tamagno and Manuel Gilvinio) and a Danish researcher (Ulla Berg) carried outdetailed anthropological fieldwork (Berg 2001).41

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