Mission Statement

TERRA — Resource Development International is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that increases the social and economic welfare of rural and impoverished Bolivian communities while mitigating impacts from climate change. TERRA provides financial assistance, technical expertise, education, and on-going monitoring to develop vital water resources and to improve the management of natural resources.

TERRA's Vision

Our vision is to help Bolivian communities and people become healthy and safe with the capacity to progress without continuous external humanitarian aid.

TERRA's Goals

  1. Utilize social and natural scientific data to make proper decisions on the productive use of natural resources; use that information to design sustainable projects that improve the standard of living.
  2. Improve the availability and functionality of basic infrastructure: help fund and design projects that improve the quality of potable and irrigation water, and basic sanitation.
  3. Help develop self-sustaining community projects that are profitable or that are supported by local institutions so that future external aid is not needed.
  4. Provide updated information to TERRA donors: enable donors to have greater involvement in their supported projects and to foster good will between different cultures.
  5. Be recognized as a leading innovative development organization in our areas of expertise.

Why Bolivia

In rural Bolivia, 78% of poor families have no access to drinking water, and most people have chronic dysentery. Worse off are the people of the Bolivian Andes whose average income is less than two dollars a day. This severe poverty prohibits communities from developing vital water and natural resources without external aid. Despite the UN Millennium Project’s conclusion that improvements to water significantly reduce poverty, few organizations develop water resources effectively—most water systems fail within five years. Furthermore, most villages have no developed irrigation water, and recurring droughts continually destroy crops which are the sole source of income. Since poor communities are the most ill-equipped to mitigate the impact climate has on water resources, aid for water development is essential. This is especially critical given the fact that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) forecasts a more drought-intensive future for the Bolivian Andes.

Girls in Quime