Rio Pocoata, Bolivia

The Rio Pocoata Bridge was our fourth bridge in Bolivia! This six week-long project helped serve the Hautaraque community of 100 people. The bridge spanned 58 meters and was built with the help of McGill University and the University of Washington chapters. This project will provide the community of Huataraque with safe year-round access to education, health care, markets, employment, and government representation.

There was a river separating Huataraque from the road to Ok’oruro and Pocoata, which floods frequently during the rainy season, four or five months out of the year. Due to the exposed nature of the landscape, floods are short-lived but violent; in 2022 a community member was swept away and killed during a crossing attempt.

Huataraque is a small agricultural community in the northern portion of Potosí Department. The residents are farmers, although growing crops is somewhat more challenging than in other communities due to the windswept terrain and relatively cool climate. Students in grades one through six walk to the community of Ok’oruro to attend school, about two kilometers away. Older students go to school in Pocoata, which involves either a 30-minute motorcycle ride each way, or a 2.5-hour walk and bunking at the school during the week. With the built bridge, the 2.5-hour walk was significantly reduced to a 30-minute walk. Pocoata also has a small hospital, government offices, markets for selling farm produce, sports facilities, and frequent transportation to Sucre and Oruro.