Interview with Tom Nicastro, May 26, 2021

Interview Summary

Tom Nicastro served as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Community Development) in Bolivia from 1965-1967. Participation in a 1964 Peru-based, St. Francis College, Brooklyn sponsored, volunteer project influenced Tom to apply for the Peace Corps. Tom’s group trained in the: U.S. - Spanish, Communism studies, community development, and physical education; and in Bolivia – additional Spanish and indigenous languages of Quecha and Aymara. There were also visits to potential community work sites. In his first assignment, Tom focused his community development work on campesinos (Bolivian peasants) in peripheral Cochabamba city communities. He organized volleyball games for imprisoned youth at a local jail. In 1966, Tom moved to rural Aiquile in the Cochabamba Department to work on a project funded by USAID, the Bolivian government and supported by Peace Corps. He and his Bolivian counterpart evaluated proposals submitted by campesino leaders and administered funding to launch schools, clinics, and roads. Tom completed a master’s degree in Regional Community Development, and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Tom’s Peace Corps work became a roadmap for his professional life, including work with Save the Children Federation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.) Bolivia (Country of service) 1965-1967(Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Community Economic Development Bolivia Peru Mexico Bolivian revolution (1952) Spanish (Language) Quechua (Language) Aymara (Language) Communism studies (training) deselection (training) drownproofing (training) Cochabamba Valley (Bolivia) chagas disease vinchuca insect ("kissing bugs") Aiquile (Bolivia) campesino public works public investment ex-pats patron pension quinoa Che Guevara (Bolivia) unintended consequences penetration roads subsistence farmers coca monocrop coca cocaine culture University of Missouri Save the Children Federation USAID National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) Bolivia VI reunions

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