Author:
Amanda Stephenson
In nearby Paru Paru, Lino Mamani Huarka and his family grow between 120 and 140 native potato varieties. This is only a small portion of the varieties that exist within Peru; more than 2,800 types are known to have originated in the country. The existence of these varieties can be attributed to the high value the Quechua people place on their cultural traditions and biological diversity.
There are nearly as many uses for
potatoes as there are varieties, from food preparation to the treatment
of illness, and for use in various cultural practices. “In the
countryside, we do not have many illnesses because there are
different types of potato for every sickness,” says Isabella. Not only
are potatoes important to the health of Quechua communities (they
contain a high level of antioxidants), they are also a valuable
commodity for trade. Farmers living in higher altitudes where potatoes
are cultivated trade the tuber for crops growing in lower altitudes,
such as quinoa and corn.
In maintaining a wide
variety of potatoes, the Quechua have also protected their people from
widespread agricultural disaster. Due to the diversification of their
most important crop, there has been no recorded agricultural disaster
akin to the Irish Potato Famine of the 1880s in their society.
The
potato also plays an important role in multiple Quechua cultural
traditions, including marriage. In many communities, if a man wants to
marry a woman, the man’s mother presents her with a potato named for its
ability to “make the daughter-in-law cry.” The daughter-in-law
must carefully peel the knobby tuber, which resembles a pine cone in
shape. If she removes more than is necessary, she will not be allowed to
marry the woman’s son.
Another cultural pillar in
Andean Quechua communities is the ceremony surrounding potato planting
and harvesting. These rituals are a traditional way of showing respect
to the earth and to the crops that sustain these communities, and almost
always involve an offering to Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Isabella
explains the ritual associated with her farm work, “Before we work, we
give thanks to the Pachamama with coca leaves.” This ceremony, called
quintu, involves multiple sets of three coca leaves, which are combined
with llama fat and placed into the first hole where potatoes are to
be planted.
While there are hundreds of potato
varieties which differ in appearance, texture, and flavor, most fall
into four traditional categories. Chuño potatoes are prepared through a
freezedrying method in which they are laid out in the coldest months of
the year, covered with frost overnight, and exposed to direct sunlight
during the day, dehydrating and turning them black. Once prepared this
way, the potatoes can be stored for 10–15 years, or longer. The moraya
potato is similar to chuño, but is freeze-dried in running water and
then washed until the starches are gone, leaving the potato white. A
third type is reserved for soups or dishes where peeled and cut
potatoes are needed. Potatoes reserved for watya are boiled whole with
the skin or cooked using the watya process, in which
a small wood-fueled oven is made in the earth and potatoes are added as hot earth is pushed in around them for cooking.
One
organization working to protect potato biodiversity in Peru is the
Parque de la Papa or Potato Park in Pisaq, Cusco. The Park is an
Indigenous biocultural territory comprised of six Quechua communities
dedicated to protecting their land, local native potato varieties, and
culture. Formed in 1998, with the help of ANDES, the Association for
the Environment and Sustainable Development (Associacion Para la
Naturaleza y el Desarrolo Sostenible), the area is
a government-recognized park where 1,400 varieties of potato are grown.
These varieties were compiled through local gathering, donations from
the International Center for the Potato (CIP, Centro International de la
Papa), the town of Ayacutro, and members of a native potato network.
The Park is run by its members, who have made strides in biodiversity
conservation.
Biopiracy, or the illegal
commercialization of biological materials, is one of many threats to the
conservation of native potato varieties. Lino Mamani from Paru Paru
works with a subgroup of the Potato Park called the Papa Arariwa,
or “Guardians of the Potato.” He works on the technical side of potato
conservation, using charts and a computer database to keep track of the
different varieties brought to the Park. He also tracks where these
varieties are planted and any special care they may need. Lino says that
this process “is also a way of protecting against pirates who might
come and try to take ownership of some of [the Park’s] varieties that
have been maintained for years.”
Climate change is
another risk to potatoes, and the region has recently experienced
extreme weather events including hail, snow, and frost during what are
typically the summer months. These extremes have threatened both the
crops and the people of this region. The Potato Park has consulted
with elders of these communities to design adaptation strategies for
such events, and members of the Park have begun producing seeds from
potatoes; potatoes have traditionally been cultivated using the whole
tuber. The seeds generated from the native tubers are then sent to the
Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. “You never know what could happen
in the Park,” says Tammy Stenner, education coordinator at ANDES. “You
could lose those varieties, and [seed propagation] is a way of saving
those seeds in case they are needed in the future.”
Members
of the Potato Park have affected legislation regarding another threat
to potato biodiversity in Peru: genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Members of the Park recently traveled to Lima to participate in
protests against the country’s acceptance of GMOs into Peru’s
markets. Park member Ricardo Paccu Chipa of Paru Paru says of
GMOs, “It’s very important that the world realizes these risks.”
Risks include biodiversity loss and an increased vulnerability to plant
diseases. Peru agreed to a 10-year moratorium on the import of
genetically modified crops in order to study their risks and benefits,
another step towards conserving the biological and cultural diversity of
Peru.
Quechua farmers and those participating in
the Potato Park are helping to ensure that native varieties continue
to be cultivated for generations to come. The participation and devotion
of each member of these communities has made the conservation of these
varieties successful. With so many individuals dedicated to the
maintenance of Peru’s biodiversity, local native potatoes are in good
hands. Lino Mamani puts it best when he says, “We are all Papa Arariwas,
Guardians of the Potato.
Amanda
Stephenson is a former Cultural Survival intern. This article is based
on an interview with members of the Potato Park, coordinated by ANDES
staff member Tammy Stenner.
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