A Feminist Examination of Community Kitchens in Peru and Bolivia

Community kitchens in the Andean countries of Peru and Bolivia are complex spaces with the potential to empower and subjugate women. This article is based on 15 years experience working on issues of gender and development in the Andes and includes information from participant observation and discussions with development workers. It concludes that the neo-liberal agenda benefits from community kitchens because it allows the state to abdicate its responsibility to the poor.