Water from sewage rivers used to grow vegetables in Bolivia
LA PAZ, Bolivia — What gets flushed down in Bolivia’s capital city is used to irrigate the green, leafy fields that supply its produce markets.
For farmer Richard Mamani it’s part of a family tradition. Like his parents before him, he uses water from untreated sewage to tend to vegetables that are his livelihood in the town of Valencia south of La Paz.
He has had safe drinking water for some years, but he says it’s too expensive to use it on his fields.
“We don’t use fertilizers and look,” he said, proudly pointing to corn and other vegetables.