The “papa” (potato) is fundamental to Peruvian culture and way of life, a fact that is not commonly known outside of the country. Peru alone is home to over 2,000 varieties of potatoes (it was news to me that so many even exist) native to this country. Not only are there so many varieties, but it is also essential to the culture and diet of many Peruvians, especially local traditional Andean communities and families. For many in remote areas, their potato harvest is their sole means of capital and food. Being that the potato can be cultivated in diverse climates and altitudes, many local farmers in remote or extreme climates cultivate this product intermixed with other crops to maximize production and the benefits.
While I was in the area of Huaraz, Peru – some 8 hours by bus to the northeast of Lima – I visited the organization of Urpichallay in Marcara – 30 minutes outside of Huaraz. This area is known for being at the base of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range – a stunning glacier topped range in Peru. It is also known for being heavily agricultural and specifically, with the Peruvian potato.
Urpichallay (www.urpichallay.org) works with local communities – focusing on farmers and schools – to fortify local traditions, environmental practices, systematize it all, and improve the processes. They gave me the opportunity to visit a local family they had been helping with the potato harvest and I jumped at the chance to visit and help out.
Where we went was in a small community just up the mountains from Marcara. We drove up for 20 minutes from the town of Marcara, then walked about 1 hour through the hills and unmarked paths. The views were stunning and the landscape completely surreal. There was nothing but small homes and tiny communities. Along the way we saw local girls in traditional attire washing clothes in the river, husband and wife teams plowing the fields, and other locals going about their daily tasks.
We finally reached the family we were headed to around lunch-time and right when they were half-done with their day of harvest. Where we were was a plateau up in the highlands, surrounded by mountains. In Quechua (the local language), they call it “pampa.”
They shared their afternoon “lunch” with me of boiled potatoes (I imagine from an earlier harvest), aji – a spicy delicacy made from the spicy Peruvian pepper, rocoto, and an orange soda in a mug that we passed around the group. We all sat around this meal and relaxed in the warmth of the sun. Some even took short siestas on the soft grass.
After about an hour on the warm grass, everyone went straight back to day’s task of harvesting the potato. For those that don’t know how one goes about doing this – it was news to me as well – here is a short description of the process of the potato harvest.
You basically all line up along the field and using a form of pick axe, you drive it into the ground and then use it to pull up the dirt towards you, uncovering the potatoes from below the dirt. Most potatoes aren’t that deep, a few inches below the surface. You hand pick the potatoes (or sometimes there’s someone else that’s in charge of that) and toss it into a mat laid down behind you. As you pick, you continue along on the line, harvesting the entire area eventually. Once the potatoes on the mat behind you get fairly full, with another person you carry it over to a master pile you have on the side of the field. Some techniques also involve someone tilling the land from side to side, that’s driven by one or two bulls. This basically makes it easier and softens the dirt to dig up the potatoes.
Our team included some 8 of us total. Most were dressed in traditional attire and prepared with hats and scarves to protect themselves from the sun at such a high altitude.
After being the spectator and photographer for about an hour, I was finally recruited to help with the harvest and partake in the experience. It was definitely fun at first, and a neat experience. But, I’ll tell you this, it was hard work after a while. We worked for some hours and it was tiring, dirty hands, back breaking labor. I only took part for a couple hours, these locals do it all day long for multiple days!
We finally finished the hard days work around 4:00pm or so. As we were going the harvest, I was told that I’d be given a few dozen potatoes as a gift – as is customary for those that help out. It was touching that they were sharing their harvest with me. And Reina, the one who gave me the potatoes, had a giant smile on her face and was so very happy when gifting me the potatoes.
The whole day left me with a great sense of satisfaction and a feeling of helping out and partaking in an amazing, one-in-a-lifetime experience.
Here’s also a short video of the team during their harvest. All of which are family and live in various different homes around the area. As is customary, they help each other out with each harvest, in this case this owner of the property, and in return he will help them later with their harvest.
