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SAN MARTÍN

 

  • Located in the northeast jungle of Peru

     

  • 44% of the population lives below the poverty line

     

  • Majority of the population lives in precarious conditions and is dedicated to agriculture, with income subject to fluctuation in low prices of rice, corn, and sugar cane.

     

  • The rapid growth in coca production and drug trafficking in the area is due to its extremely high profitability and the absence of government intervention.

At a glance

A closer look


HISTORICALLY, LOCAL ECONOMY OF LICIT AGRICULTURE

Up until the 1970s, San Martin economy depended primarily on licit agriculture: dairy farming, foresting, mining, fishing and industrial agriculture and secondarily on tourism.  The economy was later complicated by the lack of (i) sophisticated management, (ii) accessibility to credit; (iii) adequate regulations for a formal financial system: and (v) capital for the financing of enterprises.

 

 

COCA CULTIVATION & DRUG TRAFFICKING

The cultivation of coca that gives origin to conflict has inhibited social inclusion.  Many people rely on economic benefits from the sale of coca leaf to drug trafficking.  Structural poverty, socioeconomic inequality, and environmental degradation are risk factors that determine the status of the drug conflict in the Peruvian jungle.  Despite some years of peace, latent insurgent groups continue to destabilize the region. In the Peruvian jungle, insurgent groups deny economic and political rights to marginalized communities. 

 

 

VIOLENT CONFLICT

In recent years, the incidence of violent conflict has gone up due to terrorism and drug trafficking.  Terrorist groups have arrived in various villages throughout the region, proselytizing their ideology and terrorizing local populations, the majority of which are farmers in situations of extreme poverty with basic or incomplete education. These drug trafficking, terrorist groups use existing channels of democracy to diffuse and promote destructive ideologies that manipulate the electoral process and persuade that particular political groups be favored through armed intimidation.
 

 

REGIONAL DISPUTES
Disputes in the region involve mining, land ownership, access to services, and natural resources. Disputed territory is prevalent where, for example, the company Paesana S.A.C. cultivates 300 hectares of tobacco and sacha inchi, land claimed by the Siambal Community.  According to Economic and Ecological Zoning, the territory is protected for its location at the head of coal mines and buffered by the National Blue Ridge Park, and there exists no documentation of formal ownership.  Before Paesana S.A.C. cleared the land, leading authorities protested in defense of natural resources, principally water. Coprodeli aims to alleviate conflict with social development programs.

Coprodeli efforts

Coprodeli only recently became involved in the San Martín jungle in 2012 when local community members that knew of Coprodeli and Padre Miguel's work asked Coprodeli to get involved. The move to the jungle marks a historical change from Coprodeli's other work up until this point, as it is the first site that does not run along Peru's west coast. 

 

Coprodeli is applying the same holistic, matured, and proven model that has honed in our other sites, but will fine tune the details to the context, circumstances, culture and needs of the new community. 

 

The plan for Coprodeli San Martín, which is already underway, includes:

 

  • Center for Social Services

    • Farm School - The Corpus Cristi Farm School offers technical and academic education to nearly 100 students while simultaneously teaching values with respect to management of economic, social, personal and political spheres. 

    • Youth Outreach Center

    • Humanitarian Aid Hub

    • Girls Home – Offers home to nearly 30 girls throughout the region.  In addition to studying in the Farm School, the girls also live at the school complex. 
       

  • Business Incubator
    We work with small agricultural businesses to improve business management and administration.  Services provided will be carried out through trainings that teach business plan development, target markets, and local economy.
     

  • Social Infrastructure Program 
    We potentiate the role of local government and organizations through the design of public infrastructure projects that optimize public funding sources to improve access to underprivileged communities and excluded groups: women, minorities, etc.  

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