Dollies as a Sustainable Women's Leadership Tool
Project Launch: 11-8-16
The indigenous dairy farmers of San Pablito de Agualongo earn their livelihood by selling the milk of their cattle to one of three local distributors who bring their product to stores throughout Ecuador. The distance from pastures to distribution warehouses can be significant, however, and many farmers lack mules or vehicles upon which to transport their 20 liter milk jugs to deliver their milk. Women, who comprise the majority of active farmers in the area, often must carry these enormous and heavy containers from their family pastures to the warehouses on their backs, leading to significant discomfort, injury, and deformity over the course of many years. This project proposes the construction of 20 dollies that will be given to the women to transport their milk jugs, reducing the pain and burden of carrying them manually to the distribution centers.
Project Update: 2-16-17
10 dollies have been assembled by the community, allowing farmers to transport their milk jugs to local distribution centers with less pain and in half the time. The final set of dollies will be constructed and distributed to the last set of dairy farmers within the next month.
Final Report: 7-6-17
A total of 20 dollies have been built and eight different community members are using the dollies on a consistent basis. This project has helped the participants reduce back pain, minimize transportation time from their land to the El Lecherito milk collection center, increase energy levels, and improve quality of life.
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