Staff Interview with Gabriela Teran Guachalla

What inspired you to work for Fundación Alternativas?

I actually started working at Lak’a Uta Garden because I wanted to grow my own food. Then I realized they worked with food security, which is what I wanted to do, in order to make sure my child would have something to eat for years to come.

Describe a typical day at work and who you work with.

We arrive at 9:00 a.m. and update the team on all the work everyone is doing in a small feedback meeting. Then we continue with our own studies, research, or presentations, go to meetings, and do whatever we have to do. My boss is great—she supervises everything, checks all our studies and work, and her feedback is great...she has a way of explaining things that no one else can. Then we go for lunch, come back to the office, and repeat the morning process until the day ends at 6:30 p.m.

Why do you do what you do?

Well, I live in La Paz (which is around 3500 feet above sea level) and most of the food I buy is not from here; if it is, it’s not enough. Plus, we lack education on healthy diet and have easy access to fast food all over the city. So, everyone is eating poorly, we have no food, and many people from the countryside are coming to live in the city. So all that being said, I do what I do because I love to work for food security and help ensure we will have food—good food—for the entire population.

What is your favorite part of your job?

The research presentations are the best—I love seeing people take an interest in what we do. I also love the support we are shown, especially when we present policies to the local government.

What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?

The main challenge I face is making research and presentations viewer-friendly for the local or national government, and the general population. We try to make them short for easy reading, and summarizing everything can be a real challenge.

What are some current projects you are working on?

I’m currently working on a short study about government-funded healthy breakfasts to find out the strengths and weaknesses, how they help kids to stay in school, how eating healthy affects children’s nutrition, and how the government uses local production to make the breakfast; basically, the aspects of this law in Bolivia and its enforcement.

What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?

Traveling is not just about making memories—it’s also about leaving something behind. I know this through working at the Garden; it is hard but also very fun! Oh, and please do not eat tuna at the office. ;)

What makes your organization special?

Fundación Alternativas is special because everyone is committed to making things better for Bolivia. They work really hard for it. We don't take no for an answer.

What hopes do you have for the future for your organization?

I hope to continue working and focusing on making food security policies that guarantee compliance with the rights of people, and that urban agriculture will grow all over the world.

Are there any developments with your organization that you would like to share with us?

There are many! We just passed the Urban Garden Law in La Paz, and we have two committees that work in La Paz and El Alto. We also have Lak’a Uta Garden (which is the biggest in Bolivia) and we work with Huertos Escolares.

What is your organization's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?

Fundación Alternativas focus is to create sustainable options that guarantee food security in Bolivia’s cities. Our main job is to link public, civil, and private efforts to the application of public policies and programs.

How do you help support participants?

I usually help them with translations, and also give them advice on how to live here and which places to visit.

Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?

It is important because you get to know other cultures, learn a new language, see how people live all over the world, and learn the differences between different cultures.

Why do you think learning a new language is important?

It is important because we live in a globalized world, and being able to communicate with another culture enables people to gain a more profound understanding of their own culture.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

Meaningful travel for me is when you learn something from a different country but also leave something behind. It’s when you learn so much about yourself and other cultures simultaneously.