The contribution of CEDRO in the Alternative Development of Peru

The work developed by CEDRO in the coca production valleys is a response to the objectives of the Government of Peru's anti-drug policies, thus helping in the efforts of international partners as USAID within the Alternative Development Program (PAD) framework.

CEDRO´S Philosophy and Principles.

The new strategy of the Alternative Development Program - PAD, incorporates citizen's participation as a transversal axis indispensable within the different gradual and agreed eradication processes to be executed. From its start, there was a need to count with a team of experts able to develop large-scale community work, both in the urban and rural areas, making possible the participation of the highest number of villages and populated areas of coca producing valleys in Peru, with a vision of integration promoting a change of attitude, based on the trust and credibility of the counterparts.

The following work principles are taken into account in this integral vision.

a) The negative consequences produced by drugs from a physical-emotional, social and environmental perspective is taken into account. There is a clear message in favor of legality and institutions, the foundation for any investment, both private or State, as well as sustainable social development, where coca is an element restricting social advance because it does not allow private investment due to the lack of general security, and also because it is a wrong ethical and legal choice.

b) CEDRO´s research findings show that in the case of urban and rural populations in Peru, the greatest fear relates to drugs and having someone in the family doing drugs. Based on this proven fact, CEDRO considers that it is essential to provide information on this subject in order to sensitize the population on the process chain of drugs: illegal crops, production, drug trafficking, retail sale, abuse and, finally, drug dependency; all taking into account the ecological damage produced by these processes.

c) The promotion of personal and cultural resources, both of the people as well as the community, is a necessary requirement in order to facilitate the processes to reach, specially in those communities considering that they have had negative PDA experiences. In that respect, experts promotion and support activities in the area are requirements needed to generate the cadres capable of obtaining work continuity and to revert the frustrating situations they might have experienced in the past.

d) Incorporate and respect cultural practices on health, formal and non-formal education. CEDRO adapts its work methodology and the contents developed to the vision of the world of each coca-producing valley, favoring communication in their mother language. That is why it prioritizes fluent Quechua promoters in the case of the Valle del Rio Ene Apurimac - VRAE. Presently, CEDRO is doing great efforts to pass the messages in the dialects of the Rio Ene, Aguaytía, and Juanjui native communities, in order not send inappropriate messages to the community and not consider them foreigners, as is explained by the communications theory.

e) To recognize the population as active change agents, implies horizontality in the relationship. Having a constant balance between the necessary safety measures needed by all work in coca areas with the desirable reach, results in an efficient combination to accomplish achievements.

f) Incorporate local agents (local authorities, youth leaders and grass-root organizations) as valid relationships necessary within the communities and the new PDA strategy, is one of the other factors taken into consideration in the basins.

g) A holistic work style, not only implying specific activities, a decentralized focus, autonomously coordinated within the regions and integrated work, that is in coordination with other PDA executers is the most important strategy to apply the programs.

h) It is very important to have as an objective the involvement all members of the community in the PDA, those planting coca as well as those who do not. CEDRO prioritizes the work with adolescents and youth, as a mechanism to establish changes in the ideas and behavior regarding illicit coca leaf production by considering it a non-development factor.

i) Economic and social development is the best guarantee to eliminate forever-illicit crops. This change requires a change in the people's and community attitudes on coca issues, but these changes are not linear or homogeneous, thus CEDRO´s work methodologies are flexible and able to be rapidly adapted to the changes in the milieu.