Uru Uru Team: Indigenous Women Restoring a Lake And a Future in Bolivia

Indigenous communities living in the Bolivian Andean highlands have witnessed how illegal mining and plastic pollution are killing the ecosystem of Lake Uru Uru, their main source of livelihood. To restore it, the Uru Uru team, led by Indigenous women, has implemented a nature based technological solution that combines traditional ecological knowledge with circular economy principles. Using the same plastic that has invaded the lake, they build floating rafts where they plant totora reeds or aquatic plants that filter heavy metals, purifying the water and making it suitable for domestic use and irrigation. The women participating in the project receive training in planning the planting of the totora reeds, as well as in the construction of the floating rafts.