VICOS, Case Study Example

The north Andean community of Vicos hacienda was comprised of Peruvian Indians who were still living like their ancestors in the 16^th century. The Vicos hacienda was owned by a charity who would rent it to the highest bidder. The winning bidder would not only get the right to the land but also the Indian laborers or serfs. The serfs used to work without pay under the supervision of the owner’s overseer who would not even hesitate to torture them. The serfs had accepted themselves as lower in ranks to the owners and embraced submission as their fate (CBS, 1963).

The first chair of the department of anthropology at Cornell University, Dr. Allan Holmberg came to know about Vicos hacienda during his visit to Peru. One day in 1952, Dr. Holmberg came to know through his principle collaborator in Peru as well as student, Dr. Mario Vazquez that Vicos hacienda’s owner was likely to go broke. Dr. Holmberg decided to lease the Vicos hacienda and turn it into a developmental experiment. Dr. Holmberg’s team included Dr. Vazquez who was also fluent in the local language called Quecha (CBS, 1963) as well as a former administrator of the hacienda, Enrique Luna. Cornell University leased the Vios hacienda for five years at a rate of $600 per year but the faculty and students remained involved with the project until 1966 (Cornell University).

The Vicos hacienda comprised of 43,750 acres but less than ten percent was being cultivated, mainly near the river and potato cultivation was almost extinct (Cornell University). The Cornell team tried to persuade the Indians to allocate more land to potato cultivation and even offered better seeds, fertilizer, insecticides on cheap credit. Even though only 17 families out of 300 followed the Cornell team’s suggestions but who followed did benefit from better produce and eventually other families followed the suit as well. Cornell stopped selling seeds after three years and Indians assumed the responsibility to teach and financially support each other as well as engage in crops commerce throughout the region. Indian families even started lending money as well as exporting their technologies to other communities. Indians gradually started trusting their white benefiters and built a school as an expression of their gratitude. Children were offered several incentives to motivate them to attend schools (CBS, 1963).

The government also lent support to the team by providing teachers and doctors. In addition, the government also distributed land among the Indian families at the urging of the Cornell team. Cornell team also urged men to serve in army and some of the Indians who served acquired Spanish language skills. In addition, they also became more open minded towards their women. The team also pursued creative solutions such as ensuring women participation in commerce by enabling sale of items produced by women at home (CBS, 1963).

There are several factors that contributed to Cornell team’s success. First of all, Cornell team ensured that had someone who could fluently speak the local language in the form of Dr. Mario Vazquez since communication is important. Dr. Holmberg even recruited former overseer Enrique Luna who knew locals and had managed them before. Dr. Holmberg’s success in getting Luna on his side also made a huge significance because Luna was a local and could provide significant credibility to the Cornell team’s initiatives.

Cornell team also showed patient and tried to understand locals’ early attitude towards the visitors. Cornell team realized that visitors had a history of exploiting the Indians, thus, they didn’t want to come as imposing. This is why they didn’t force Indians to follow the team’s suggestions but instead invite them to voluntarily adopt them. Once Indians witnessed the benefits of new technology, their trust in Dr. Holmberg and his team grew.

The team also took steps to make Indians self-sufficient which is why they stopped selling seeds after three years and let the Indians take over. This sent the message to the Indians that the team had no ulterior motives and simply wanted to help the Indians become capable of self-governance. The team also got support from the government because they proved to the government that the new methods were working. The team also knew that once it has won the locals’ confidence, it may be able to push through other initiatives some of whom did materialize such as education and greater rights for women.

Cornell team was also successful because they were willing to put in the required resources and oversee the project from beginning to end. They invested both financial resources and years, thus, adequacy of resources also contributed towards success. Teams can create effective plans but if they do not demonstrate the required commitment or allocate necessary resources, good plans have little value. Another reason why the Cornell team succeeded was that they included Indians in the planning process and took their concerns and ideas into account. This motivated Indians because they felt they were being treated fairly and with respect.

References

CBS. (1963). So That Men Are Free. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/vicosperu/vicos-site/stmaf.pdf

Cornell University. (n.d.). A Brief History of the Cornell-Peru Project. Retrieved October 6, 2012, from https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/vicosperu/vicos-site/cornellperu_page_1.htm#holmberg