Peru Photos

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Peru is diverse in its rural cultures and its agro-ecological environments. It is the ancestral home of the potato and other tubers and grain crops.	In the Andes mountains, potatoes and other tubers – and livestock – have been raised for millenia.	On the arid Pacific coast, some of the farmers have only recently come from other regions and livelihoods.


My first week was spent in a workshop on “social capital” led by ISU professor Jan flora and Maria Fernandez of La Molina University.	Jan’s gift of ISU sweatshirts was a hit with workshop participants. They all came from projects that use environmental sustainability as a development strategy.	The highland community of Quilcas was kind enough to participate in focus groups led by workshop participants. This group was telling us about environmental resources. The woman in the white hat raises more than 100 kinds of native potato.


At the conclusion of the week-long workshop, we enjoyed a “pachamanca” pit-barbecue of potatoes, lamb, favabeans, and “humitas,” which are sweet tamales.	Animals are stabled for security in the courtyards of homes. Morning and evening see processions to and from nearby fields.	This high-clearance sow was tethered on her grazing spot. The local pork is delicious.


The guinea pig is a meat animal in Perú, usually occupying a corner of the kitchen. This is the operation of a women’s co-op in the community of Cañete, on the coast.	Many communities produce distinctive products from local resources like wool and clay. They would like to develop similar markets for unique food products.	Crop residue comes home. At the conclusion of the rainy season, the rest of the crop becomes livestock feed.


On-farm research. On a farm near the village of Colpar, this legume strip is being evaluated as feed for guinea pigs.	Perú considers itself the second ancestral home of corn. One look suggests the diversity within this variety, one of several kept on this farm.	Biodiversity goes below ground too. These scientists were surveying nematodes in potatoes across South America.


Perú’s mining industry brings foreign exchange but poses severe environmental challenges.	Wildcat mines are destroying highland pastures in the community of Quilcas.	The mountains of the Montaro Valley bear the marks of ancient terraces. Some are still farmed.


Edgar Hurtado, of the NGO Grupo Yanapai, introduced me to Eduarda Astucurí as she watched her sheep and llamas graze.	This verdant green mound looks inviting, but it’s as prickly as a pin cushion. This pasture invader may be the result of overgrazing.	I am now a two-week expert in Perú. What I do know is that there are dedicated and creative Peruvians confronting the challenges to their lands and communities.