The successful food distribution program was born in Yaracuy and expanded nationwide to assist the most vulnerable population.
This Wednesday, the Local Supply and Production Committees (Clap) celebrate their ninth anniversary in Yaracuy, the state where this innovative food distribution system was born.
Pedro Rivas, mayor of the La Trinidad municipality, the jurisdiction where a group of residents developed the first CLAP, recalled on Tuesday that in 2016, Venezuela was experiencing a severe food distribution crisis, a result of the start of an economic war that affected the country’s food supply.
“There were no food products in the stores, so we all ran after the trucks when they arrived at the stores to stand in long lines and get access to the little that arrived. “We all remember those terrible times when it was so difficult to acquire any food product,” Rivas recalled.
It was then that the residents of the Nuevo Boraure 2 sector, under the coordination of seven women from the community, organized, with businesses, the wholesale purchase of various products for orderly distribution to the population.
“It was an immediate success. Knowing that you could access the necessary products without paying extra for them and without waiting in lines was what marked the path taken throughout the country,” she recounted.
The CLAPs became the most effective solution for bringing food to communities.
An evolution marked by collective participation
Rivas explained that thanks to President Nicolás Maduro and then-governor Julio León (now Minister of Productive Agriculture and Lands), the initiative was taken as an example and replicated throughout the country.
Currently, the CLAPs are responsible for distributing food to all communities in every state in the country, following a rigorous organization reinforced by the Bolívar Chávez Battle Units (UBCh) and community and street leaders.
The mayor explained that there are sectors that, in addition to supplying the traditional products in the CLAP bags—which include grains, corn flour, sugar, rice, pasta, sugar, canned sausages, oil, and coffee, among others—also distribute local products to reinforce them.
“The ‘P’ of production is an area that still needs progress, but in La Trinidad we are strengthening it with the support of several producers who are joining the food distribution campaigns with various products. The plan is to continue this path and have each community have local products at affordable prices for all families,” Rivas emphasized.
A Commemorative Plaza
Furthermore, the mayor mentioned that this Wednesday the “El Milagro de los CLAP” plaza will be inaugurated in the Nuevo Boraure 2 sector, in commemoration of the beginning of the CLAP in the state.
The plaza became a recreational space for the community, where residents can share experiences and remember the beginnings of one of the most successful food distribution systems in the country.
In addition, the entire Nuevo Boraure 2 sector was intervened by the Venezuela Bella Mission. The work includes the restoration of the facades of 80 homes, the painting of a sports field, and the renovation of the community preschool.
A spread of products distributed through the CLAP program. Photo: Caracas Chronicles.
(Últimas Noticias) by Carlos Vielma
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/
