Workshop participants were farmers from three
communities and those who work with them.
Participants were welcomed in the highland
community of Colpar with flowers and music.
Value-added processing is of
great interest to small farmers. This yogurt co-op processes milk
from the dairy co-operative.
You haven’t eaten grapes until
you taste the vine ripened fruit of small farmers on the Pacific
coast. Many farmers are pursuing organic and IPM certification.
The capital city Lima now has an organic
farmers’ market that even offers workshops on composting and recycling.
Traditional agriculture clings to steep
mountainsides in Peru. Good soil conservation indicates an intact
community.
For every well-maintained
mountainside, there is one showing signs of soil erosion that is out of
control. Ancient stone terraces have been rebuilt around Inca ruins,
but they are off limits to farmers.
Perú today seems a mixture of
conservation and exploitation. Small- and large-scale mining is
poisoning rivers and usurping farm lands. Here, however, a water
tower carries the reminder “Drop by drop, the water is running out.”
