ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the issue of whether private actors – including NGOs – are able to effectively act in a quasi-statal capacity to provide social protection in contexts where the state offering is either not generous or does not provide comprehensive coverage of all citizens. It takes a close look at a single case study: the coffee farmers of Caranavi, Bolivia, involved in the five-year Café Correcto project sponsored by the European Union and Italian NGO Progetto Mondo MLAL. The particular focus of the chapter is the provision of education or training (in a context in which many recipients received little or no formal schooling) and the introduction of contributory pensions as a supplementary source of income. The chapter is based on interviews, focus groups, participant observation and documentary analysis carried out during fieldwork in Bolivia in summer 2016.
