Introductions

It has been unseasonably cold the past week. Needless to say, it was a bit difficult to wake up at 5:30 am and leave the comfort of 4 wool blankets, 1 fleece, and a hot water bag. Still, I managed to get up, put on two pair of pants, two sweaters, my winter jacket, my hat, my gloves, and my sunscreen. Qiqe and I were on the bus a little after 6am and rode out to Juli to meet up with Nico and Oscar of the NGO, Centro-IRPA, the local organization behind our new project.

We jumped into Nico's truck and headed out to our first visit of the morning in the community of Anchoaqui, in the District of Huacullani, of the Province of Chucuito (a.k.a- middle of nowhere rural Puno.) Our guest was a relative of Nico, which may play a key factor in making the project work in this sector.

Over the next hour, we spoke with two locals about the production of quinoa. Currently, they produce an adequate amount of quinoa and even in a year of difficult weather, for their family's needs. They are even able to salvage a few kilos of the grain for sales on a good year. Generally, though, they produce a more bitter version of the quinoa which requires additional washing, and is not as appetizing as the white, or sweet quinoa.

For the needs of the restaurant, we explained that they would have to harvest a specific strand of white quinoa called “Sajama” because it is a larger and sweeter grain that is easier for recipes like taboule, quinoto, and other salads. The two farmers expressed a bit of concern because sweet quinoa often falls victim to hungry birds that inhabit the area. We all shared a laughed as Nico joked that the community was afraid of birds. But he did question if they used any tactics to scare the birds off like scarecrows or netting. The farmers commented that this was never done, so it gives us all hope that a different method may help protect the sweet quinoa.

We spoke a bit more about the local human, socio-economic and technical farming production realities of the community. The population lives in extreme poverty. There is no medical center in the region and only one school for 60 children who are taught by 2 teachers (3 grade levels taught per teacher).

What I found to be completely shocking was the price at which they currently sell their quinoa grain. An arrobaor about 6.5 kilos sells for about 15-18 soles (that’s about .60 cents of a sole per kilo!) In the local market in Puno, quinoa grain sells up to 8 soles a kilo. We still need to do the math with the NGO as well as consider a more adequate payment for the quinoa, as to not overwhelm the expectations of the producers at the onset of our work.

Next, we set off towards Lake Titicaca. Nico said to save time we would cross one of the hilltops, which Qiqe and I thought he was just saying as a joke…but literally….we took this crazy path and drove over a small mountain. It was like being in a ford truck commercial…and his truck is, seriously, like a rock.

After another 45 minute drive we arrived in the lakeshore community of Isani in the district of Zepita. If the project works here, it is an ideal spot to conduct agro-tourism as it is situated right between the border towns of Yunguyo and Desaguaderos.

The wind from the lake felt so cold that we hoped to convince the farmer we had come to meet to meet in the truck. He really wanted us to come speak in his house, which in this case meant in the yard of his house. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

This meeting proved to be a bit more apprehensive and uncertain. The community currently does not produce a great deal of quinoa as it holds less purchasing power in the local markets compared to beans, potatoes, and barley. Still, the farmer was open to the opportunity and will invite another five farmers to participate in the effort.

With both communities, we are set to meet with all the interested farmers and begin discussion of the project in late June. The day was long, but extremely productive, and we are all quite hopeful for its development. Next up, Nico and I have a lot of work to edit the project and start seeking out financial support for the effort!