Over the past few weeks, 16-year-old Esteban Quispe has been making the media rounds. Recently appearing in local newspapers and television programs, he is Bolivia’s latest technological discovery. In the unassuming town of Patacamaya, about 100 kilometres southeast of La Paz, Esteban has spent the last several years building robots, largely out of trash.
From his tinkerer’s workshop adjacent to his parent’s house, Esteban has dreamed up and constructed a family of robots, one with a shocking resemblance to Wall-E, the Pixar robot from the film of the same name. Taking inspiration from the needs around him, he hopes to pioneer artificial intelligence in the future, and to use robotics to help make the work of the farmers and laborers in his community much easier.
The Bolivian altiplano may at first seem an unlikely place for such a tinkerer. In a community whose economy is largely based on potato cultivation, how does one of its own, the child of a bricklayer and a homemaker, find the passion and the talent for robotics? Truth is, Bolivia today is a hotbed of technology. In recent years, the launch of the Tupac Katari satellite and the completion of the first phase of the Mi Teleférico project (with a second phase on the way) are just some of the more high-profile projects in Bolivia. The national government has even announced the creation of a Technological Citadel, a dream to sow the seeds of Bolivia’s very own Silicon Valley, a task for which the State will need to continue improving telecommunications and to move government processes and citizen engagement online.
As these and other initiatives continue to take hold, more and more stories like Esteban’s will certainly come to light. Both Bolivians and expats living in the country are realising what this place is capable of in terms of technological innovation, giving more and more people the drive to dream up the seemingly impossible and push forward to make their visions a reality.
Technology likes to cross borders, and this is very apparent in Bolivia. Much of the latest technological changes here have been brought from elsewhere. Facebook has come with a plan to provide free (if limited) internet access across the country. US engineers have implemented ways to use one of Bolivia’s most abundant natural resources, llama feces, to filter and clean water (no joke!). And German engineering has introduced new technologies to help mend heart defects among children across the country.
But much of the exciting advances in technology in Bolivia are the result of local inventiveness. There are countless people across the country who, like Esteban, have the drive, initiative and knowhow to offer some pretty impressive technologies. In fact, some homegrown efforts are looking to be exported to nearby countries: Bolivia’s RFID-based tagging and registration system for automobiles seems primed for implementation across the continent. And in certain parts of Bolivia, fine examples of traditional technologies, particularly around agriculture and food production, are being brought back into practice as time reveals their usefulness and effectiveness.
In this issue, BX looks at technology and how it is changing and shaping Bolivia. Whether coming from Bolivians like Esteban or from foreigners bringing ‘the next big idea’, Bolivia is entering an exciting new phase of technological development, and we wanted to capture a snapshot of that process.
With improved telecommunications, more advanced training opportunities and a growing interest in moving Bolivia’s tech sector to the global stage, we should expect to see more stories like Esteban’s in the future. The most important thing we can do is encourage the curiosity, foster the inventiveness and support the ingenuity that drives these efforts. Only then can Bolivia be brought closer to participating meaningfully in global technological transformation.
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The largest cable car system keeps growing
The Mi Teleférico system, connecting the areas of La Paz and El Alto, is the most extensive urban cable car system in the world. Its three operative lines impressively cross over the mountainous city, cutting an hour-long commute by land to El Alto to an enjoyable 15 minutes of astonishing views. Soon, this already-impressive network will expand to new reaches of the city, by adding six more lines at a price tag of $450 million. The completion of this second phase will add 20.3 km and 23 more stations to the system. Riders will be able to travel all the way from Cota Cota in the Zona Sur to Río Seco in El Alto.
The six new lines are to be built by 2030, with the new White Line due for completion in less than a year. ‘The system will make the face of the city one of modernity, technology and color,’ says César Dockweiler, executive manager of Mi Teléferico. The expansion will not displace buildings or affect many trees in the city. Only 12 of 500 trees at the Plaza Triangular in Miraflores, for example, will be affected by the project. It will also generate jobs in La Paz, as the company, with 150 employees at the moment, expects to employ around 800 people in the future.
Dockweiler explains that this expansion will make green areas and plazas more accessible, improving the ecological and social well-being of the city. ‘We are not enemies of the plazas,’ Dockweiler says. In order not to disturb Plaza Triangular, the new White Line will feature the world’s first underground teleférico station. This line will connect the most frequented parts of La Paz, travelling from Chuqi Apu (where Yellow and Green currently meet), to the future Orange Line, where one will be able to connect to the Red, which is currently isolated from the existing lines.
Beyond this expansion, Dockweiler envisions a future of integrated transportation systems for La Paz, which will ensure that the future city will be ‘a city for living, a city for coexisting, a city for enjoying.’
‘The most complex problems need the most simple solutions.’
This has become Franz Freudenthal’s mantra – the biggest lesson he took from his grandmother’s life – and a concept that inspired him to invent the Nit-Occlud device, a piece of high-tech medical equipment that is hand-knitted by Aymara women. With this technology that meshes ancient weaving traditions with medical innovation, there is a new way to save the lives of many children in Bolivia and around the world.
Freudenthal and his wife perform operations at the Fundación Caridioinfantil in La Paz, which was created to help poor children with heart diseases. The Foundation has helped 350 children since it began the operations in 2007. The Nit-Occlud devices are designed to block holes in a human heart that are a result of a congenital defect, the most common birth defect worldwide, affecting around one out of every 500 babies.
The causes of these defects are generally unknown by doctors, although smoking while pregnant and genetic disorders – like Down syndrome – can contribute to the defect’s development. Heart murmurs often indicate the presence of a hole in the heart, and around half close on their own. But for the remaining children with this condition, a repair is necessary so they can lead healthy and productive lives. Untreated holes can be fatal.
Open heart surgery can seal some of these holes, but less invasive methods such as using plugs are becoming increasingly popular. The Nit-Occlud is one of these plugs. Attached to a disposable handle and catheter, it is hand-knitted into the shape of a coil, like a tiny top hat.
But producing such sophisticated medical equipment by hand is is problematic because consistency in construction isn’t as stringent as one finds in a modern factory. Additionally, Bolivia lacks in technological development, making the production of a high-tech product that much more difficult.
‘The idea of knitting them by hand was to improve the devices already on the market, which are made of wires that are soldered shut’, says Freudenthal, explaining that a seamless single-wire device had to be constructed by hand, rather than by machine.
‘Hand-woven is more difficult and therefore more expensive’, explains Freudenthal, but it’s less risky for the patient, and Freudenthal says they are primarily ‘interested in the life of the patient.’
Although the women fabricating these plugs have likely been lifelong knitters, they receive training for three to four months once they are hired. This not only includes learning how to weave the parts together, but also learning how to understand difficult technical language and documents, which not only gives them the necessary skills to do the job but also gives them ‘more self-confidence and makes them grow professionally’, according to Freudenthal.
The clinic pays the workers a stipend during training, and they are also trained in hygiene, safety, teamwork and conflict management, making them ideal employees for a high-level manufacturing environment. The manufacturing company PFM SRL considers this training a social contribution because ‘investing in quality training produces a quality product.’ The company’s management also believe that ‘any adult who contributes positively to society must receive compensation’ as well.
The procedure costs several thousand US dollars, but is vastly cheaper – and less risky – than traditional open heart surgery. However, Freudenthal says that ‘it should be emphasized that not all patients can be treated with devices – some need surgery to survive.’
The Foundation supports itself via donations from Austrian and German individuals, and they are also assisted within Bolivia by Bisa Bank. Although some families are able to afford the procedures, many are unable to and have to fundraise or get assistance from the Foundation if they have no means of paying.
The Nit-Occlud is wholly manufactured in Bolivia and exported to Germany, where it is certified and exported to the UK, Russia, Kazakhstan, Spain and other countries.
Not only is the foundation’s invention improving the lives of children with heart defects in Bolivia and around the world, it is also providing unique job training and employment opportunities for women.
In Achocalla, farmer Telmo Nina shows me around the eco-farm he manages. He explains how each component of the operation has multiple benefits for the land and the grower, and exists in near-perfect equilibrium with the natural environment. From here, Nina and his team grow over 49 varieties of vegetables for Armonía restaurant in Sopocachi, and for distribution throughout La Paz.
Nina shows-off innovative techniques of working with the land, instead of contaminating and depleting it, resulting in overall-healthier systems. The soil is at the core of everything he does at the farm. His sowing, cultivating and harvesting methods rely on healthy “living” soil free of chemicals and pesticides.
‘’A plant [in this soil] has the advantage of being able to fight off diseases because it is well-powered,’ Nina explains, picking up a handful of compost. ‘It’s like a person. If you are well fed, you’re strong; you don’t get sick, you don’t catch a cold, nothing. But if you’re weak, if you don’t eat well, you’ll suffer from illness, stomach ache, etc.’
In the following image, we point to five features of Nina’s farm that make it sustainable. These sustainable technologies help provide healthy vegetables to the city.
Ecological Dry-Bathroom:
Inside the adobe country house is an ecological bathroom that reduces the footprint of the home. To use it, visitors follow posted instructions to sit correctly on the toilet so that urine is caught separately from waste. After use, one simply dumps some of the “organic material” on top of the waste in order to mask the smell. Remarkably, there’s no smell whatsoever! Urine is used to enrich soil outside and Nina is testing the use of the waste for large inedible plants on the property.
· → adobe from Achocalla (pointing to the wall of the house)
· → 8 m^2 (showing width of the house)
Canals:
In order to maintain warmth in the harsh frost season of the Altiplano, it’s important to cultivate next to water, like the Incans did. Canals are dug around fields and inside greenhouses for this reason.
(lagoon must be drawn near a canal)
Artificial ponds also regulate temperatures, as well as support life in the ecosystem. ‘This creates a home for little birds and ducks,’ who move in on their own, Nina explains.
Compost piles:
‘We only need natural materials for the compost,’ Nina says. ‘We have regular sand and we use it to cap off the first layer of organic material. Then we put another layer of the organic material and add natural sheep manure. Next we need a little bit of carbon - normal coal, which we always have. All of these materials are at hand on the farmland. Finally, we place dried reeds on top to protect the compost like a skin, and the land does all the work.’
Biogas:
Nina’s team and a local university experiment with biogas, a liquid byproduct of treated manure. The odorless black liquid looks more like fuel for your car than something you’d trust to fuel your food, but there’s no arguing that the plants given this treatment grow taller than the others.
Solar lamps:
‘In the countryside people can live off of energy completely free,’ Nina says of their solar lamps.
