Peru – Supporting Licit Communities

ACDI/VOCA’s Supporting Licit Communities (SLC) program provided multisectoral development assistance to Peruvian communities in three regions—Quillabamba-Cusco, Apurimac-Ene River Valley and upper Huallaga—chosen to permanently adopt a licit lifestyle. SLC focused its program activites on four main objectives:

• effectively managing counter-narcotics issues with the Peruvian government
• strengthening communities’ willingness to reject coca growing as an income source
• increasing the availability of licit economic opportunities
• heightening public awareness of the beneficial value of governmental programs

To effectively manage counter-narcotics issues, the SLC program helped the Peruvian goverment’s Cuerpo de Asistencia al Desarollo Alternativa (The Alternative Development Assistance Program) coordinate a coca measurement and eradication certification plan in the targeted areas under the umbrella of the USAID/Peru and the Peruvian government anti-drug program. Information on participants' registries as sellers to the Empresa Nacional de Coca, or the National Coca Company, in quantities reasonably related to the size of his/her production was critical in order to determine plots subject to eradication.

ACDI/VOCA’s integrated development approach featured an alliance with key local partners, a dedicated community grant fund and the provision of training and technical assistance. SLC activities supported bottom-up, locally led social and economic development initiatives to directly benefit the target populations. This integrated development approach consisted of three primary components:

• Enabling Environment: ACDI/VOCA facilitated community understanding of the program and how the incentives for the voluntary eradication of coca can ease the transition to a licit economy that complies with the law and can lead to future private and public investments.
• Community Development: The program increased family participation and improve community social conditions through the provision and/or improvement of facilities and services for educational and health needs, community leadership development and local government participation.
• Productive Development: ACDI/VOCA reduced poverty and create licit economic opportunities by promoting the success of rural ex-cocalero entrepreneurs and their participation in competitive value chains and agricultural activities.