A case study of ex-hacienda Toralapa in the Tiraque of the Upper Cochabamba Valley

    Tne d ~ c i s i o nt o ac t h i s case study was lu'geiy a response t o state- zents by the research s t z f f of the Solivien Sc,-vicio :iacio:lal de R e f o m .'<~rzria(~:;RA) t h a t n3 ~c,:e:;t far=-level studies of the effects of the lsnd reforn on i n c o ~ e ,~ r ~ 2 x c t i o neducation, 3 r d che l i k e were available. , k ~ c hsf t h e published ziacro-level information was i n c o n s i ~ t e n tand contra- dictory bcth overtine and f o r tile s m e J ?e.r, with diffzrent government agencies ;)roviding widely differing estinates of any given characteristic. m- lne case study approach ha' Seen folloved by the LTC-CLDA team studying t h Sc;iv;-an ianci refora bes.--=ex 19% ~ and 1973, 2:iltr t h e d i r c c t i o ~of 3r. Xonald Clark. Katherine Barnes von I ~ k ~ s c h aand Luis Calcler6n S., i l head of t h e S:;M researcki section, eccouraged a e t o restudy ex-hacienda r -oralape, located about 45 k s . up the valley froa Cochabmba, high above the valley f l c o r . A t nore thsn 3,000 r e t e r s above sea l e v e i , climatic con- ditions and crops grom on 'l'crzlapa are much l i k e 'hose found on t h e A l t i - plano, ps:rticulnrly ir. t h e Lake T i t i ~ ~ c region, with potatoes and other p - root crops, Sarley and other hardy grains, an2 broad beans predominating. 7s a c k ~ y c u n ?Zete on Torelapa, along with c wczlth of tabular inforrna- tion, w e r e available f r o 3 work done by Dr. Marcelo Peinado*; part of h i s work consisted-of 2 i.,oilset.,old survey incluaing data on production, income, consunption, lebor, education, end traditional practices. Tne panel design employed i n the Lower Ve.lley case studyk* could not be a ~ p l i c ~ a t efcr Fordape sir-ce only half t h e clriginal qilestionnaircs d . could Se found. Tiiose evailable were copiei (5y hand!) by Paz Soto Dorsey a26 pravided t h e b ~ s i sf o r pcrrtizl compariscns reported i n t h i s study. E.,:gregate 5eta di>-,- - -loped by Zr. Feinado did exist for most of t h e variables. -k-edro Gaac:?%lieend Roxzaa Castilio of the 5:;PA helped prspare dupli- cates of the 1967 questionnsires f o r use ic t h e restudy. Cclonel Arcade3 *.,.lar:elo , P c i ~ a d cZ ., "Lanr', 3eforn in Three Cornunities cf CochabmSa, 901iviz" (2ociorsi. Zissertatlcr, i n Agricuit.ura1 Zconoriiics, University of **"A Case Stu.5:~'of the k;-er Cochabk~baValley : Ex-h'aciendas Parotani 226 ~ -!,art a r( ; .~~ ~ ~'$is.~ ,~I:3-v.er.5er ~ijjF;l'). i ~ : ~~, ~ 7:1L:; ' study was dcne as ~ - I s? the S C ~ ~ r o j e c tor, c=s-,zrative effects or" ;zzd reforrc; f i e l d work - - -2 t h i s cese st^?:; i z e a l a t e l y sreceied the i n i t i e t i s n of the Toralepa      LOW on sone farns, particularly those i n the higher altitudes where it has not been possible t o build access roads which trucks can negotiAte at all B. Ecology and Natural Resources According t o Peinado, Eacienda Toralapa '%as probably the biggest and n o s t import~ntfee= of tke ~nt?re?mt<rce ic terns of x z h c r of r'xal f~e- l i e s , mea, ar?d volune of potato production," making it a logical choice for study. The farm itself was divided into five parts, each administered separately; the laver section, call-:d Torolapa, containing the patr6nfs bouse and most of the irrige,ted land of the hacienda, was chosen for stud;r. The other sections, Uc?lchi, Ca~icote,Boqucron, ariC Sancaya~i,&re not treated i n t h i s ,tudy because nc bese date are available for them. The hacienda was established i n 1870 and increased i c size following the \.Jar of the Pa- c i f i c (1879) a t the expense of the neighboring Indian c o m ~ n i t y . Its fi- ~ nal owner i n the pre-refom period expanded it by the adquisition or' the neighborin( hacienda. By t h i s time, the Indian co~prunityha9 been completely incorporated into the hacienda. Toralnpa has a mean altitude of 9,700 meters, vhich i~high enough t o l i m i t the growth of ~ a t u r e vegetetlon t o short grass an3 tola ( a scrub l bush); a few e c c a m t u s trees m e also found, but wcod i s generally scarce a t t h i s altitude. Kost rain falls betveen December and Mfch, with a yearly averege precipitation of 450 mn. h u a l average temperature is about 50