Living on the edge: Locals refuse to move out of their 'suicide homes' on the edge of eroding cliff-face

In Bolivia's highland city of El Alto, the row of colourful corrugated metal roofs for a moment distracts from the terrifying sight below: a precipitous drop inches from the houses, known locally as 'suicide homes' for the high risk the inhabitants take.

The thin row of flimsy structures hangs on the edge of a cliff formed of earth with a sheer drop hundreds of feet to the rocky escarpment below.

Experts and city officials say the cliff is eroding, making the homes even more dangerous - hence their nickname.

The precarious homes often serve as workplaces for Aymara shamans, known as yatiris, where they make offerings to the Pachamama, or Earth Mother.

But heavy rains and global warming are increasingly undermining the buildings' foundations.

'The precipice in this valley is 90 degrees,' said Gabriel Pari, municipal secretary of water, sanitation, environmental management and risk at El Alto's mayoral office.

'That is precisely why we want them to leave this place, if they do not want to leave we are going to have to use force.'

The shamans, however, are clinging on, despite the back doors of the rickety homes having only a narrow ledge before the ground drops away completely.

(A drone view shows a row of houses, locally known as 'suicide homes', dwellings built on the edge of an earth cliff and often serving as workplaces for Aymara shamans, in El Alto, Bolivia December 3, 2024)

(Image shows thin row of flimsy structures hanging on the edge of the cliff)

(Experts and city officials have warned of the danger of living on the cliff-side homes, but residents have decided to cling on)

'We are not going to move from this place, because this is our daily work place,' said yatiri Manuel Mamani, making an offering to the Pachamama with a fire outside his home.

Gabriel Lopez Chiva, another yatiri, said he was confident, however, that the Pachamama would protect him.

Ref: Living on the edge: Locals refuse to move out of their 'suicide homes' on the edge of eroding cliff-face (dailymail) Photo Credit-Dailymail