Now, in the high Sierras, World Bank staff are helping the Quechua Indians rebuild pre-Hispanic terraces and irrigation systems, replant decimated forests, and start women's businesses. Modern farming and conservation, combined with ancient tools and practices, are giving hope to this beautiful region. The Bank Group's country assistance strategy for Peru concentrates on poverty reduction. The project aims at communities that previously were centers of civil unrest and supports investments in micro-projects to raise incomes and conserve natural resources.
Villagers play a big role in choice, design, and execution.
By donating their labor, they contribute around 30 percent of the micro-project costs. The geographic unit for planning and implementing the project is the watershed basin. The project covers 125 such micro-basins, which are home to 75,000 people living in in extreme poverty. The Incas ruled. Then came the Spanish conquistadors.