Tapacarí Province

Tapacarí is a province in the Cochabamba Department, Bolivia It is a province that is located at a turnoff from the major highway that links Cochabamba and Oruro. It has traditionally been amongst the poorest in the department; it and neighboring province Arque are the two poorest of the 16 provinces that make up the department of Cochabamba. The majority of the people who live in Tapacari are indigenous Quechua villagers; or campesinos as they are known in Spanish. The principal economic activities of the families are agriculture and livestock, with wheat, barley, potatoes, corn and other staples being the major cash crops and sheep, goats, pigs, and guinea pigs being the most popular animals. Food is first and foremost used for domestic consumption, while the excess is traditionally sold at the local markets. While the men work in agriculture and haul the excess off to larger markets in Quillacollo and Cochabamba, the women of the Tapacari valley are known as superb weavers. The fur from the sheep is removed and dyed with traditional flowers that grow in the wild. and then spun by the women. Finally, in the same fashion that the Incas used centuries ago, it is then extended on the loom to make beautiful products. Although some of the weavings are exported, the majority is sold in the city at centric markets.

The approximate altitude of the province is 3,000 msnm (metros sobre nivel de mar - or meters above sea level). The terrain is very rough, as there are virtually no paved roads in the entire province, with the exception of the interdepartamental route linking Cochabamba and Oruro and La Paz.

The province is divided into 4 cantones, or sub provinces including Tunas Vinto, Ch'alla and Ramadas. Aramasi, which is the site of a weaving center funded via PRODEVAT, in addition to a mill which was funded in part by USAID, is located in the Ramadas Province. The Mary Mahoney Medical Center, which is funded by Asociacion Amistad, also works out of Aramasi. Finally, Aramasi also celebrates an annual weaving and music fair which was started by a US Peace Corps Volunteer.

Politically, the province is almost entirely behind the ruling party of Evo Morales - Movimiento al Socialismo, or MAS.