GreenFields puts itself on the map in Bolivia

GreenFields is well on the way to building a rock-solid reputation for itself as a supplier of high-quality artificial grass systems in South America as well. Fourteen Slide Max XQ 50 fields were recently laid in Oruro in Bolivia. The order was awarded by the municipality and the work completed in collaboration with our distributor, Buitrón Rodríguez Maldonado (BRM).

3700 metres above sea level

Oruro, a city of of approximately 250,000 residents, is situated on the Andean Plateau in the West of the country, approximately 3700 metres above sea level. Because of its location, it is often cold in the city. The landscape is rugged and sprawling; trees and shrubs are few and far between and grass has difficulty growing here. So the artificial grass fields supplied by GreenFields are an excellent way of offering the residents good sports facilities and raising sporting standards to a higher level.

Pleasant collaboration with BRM

The fourteen fields were installed during a period of two years by our distributor BRM under the inspiring leadership of Fernando Machicado, a qualified engineer. With the new fields from GreenFields, Machicado and his team have substantially raised the quality standard for artificial grass fields in Bolivia. The collaboration and the result are so satisfactory that there are already further plans for installing more GreenFields playing fields in Bolivia. For example, discussions regarding new training fields in La Paz are currently ongoing with Bolivar, the largest football club in Bolivia.

Mining, transportation and Carnival

Mining is traditionally the main source of income in Oruro. At the beginning of the 17th century, the city took shape on the outskirts of a silver mine. The city’s growth came to a standstill when the silver mine was exhausted, however, when tin was discovered in the ground in the late 19th century, it once again became a flourishing hive of activity. The La Salvadora tin mine was the largest supplier of tin in the world for some considerable time. And even though the tin mines also became increasingly less productive, the mining industry is still the largest employer in the area. Wolfram and copper are also mined here. Even so, unemployment and poverty are rife due to the decline in mining. Fortunately, there have also been signs of an economic recovery in recent years. The traffic infrastructure in the region has been hugely improved, allowing Oruro to successfully develop into a logistics node for transhipping and storing goods from the neighbouring countries of Chile and Brazil.

Tourism has also contributed to this revival. Oruro is famous for its Carnival, one of the largest folklore events in South America thanks to the diablada, the ‘Devil’s dance’. This dance, for which the dancers wear magnificent masks and costumes, combines Spanish influences with elements from regional religious ceremonies.