The Quechua: Guardians of the Potato

At four in the morning, Quechua farmers in the high altitude Andean communities of Amaru and Paru Paru, Peru are beginning the day in their fields, or chacras. Most of them are tending to a crop representative of the Quechua diet and culture: the potato. "Our most basic food is the native potato," says Isabella, a Quechua woman and respected elder from Amaru. 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. 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 Mamani] 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." 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.