Hello Everybody. Sorry once again that I havent written for so long.
First of all, I posted my photos from Canada and my photos from my first 10 days in Peru on my flickr page. Once again, the links are below. Either one works - the first link just goes to sets and may be easier to scan through and just look at pics you want.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27641699@N08/sets/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27641699@N08/
Will write more soon. Im in another weird transtion time and am struggling with language barriers
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Potato Seed Bank
This is the seed bank at CIP for potatoes botanical seeds. They conserve of 4,500 varieties of potatoes. Potatoes have been grom in Peru for 8-10,000 years and are a crucial part of both the Incan Empire and current rural Andean Culture.
Tour of International Potato Center
This is a Dr. giving us a tour of the in-vitro seedbank of the International Potato Center in Lima (CIP). It is an amazing and scientifically complex project to store the worlds potato diversity, sweet potato, and native andea tubers. They also work with farmers to get them to continue conservation in the field and help to breed locally adapted varieties. Will write more later.
Quniua Breeder
Learning about INIAA´s Quinua Seedbank and their projects to breed locally adapted varieties of qunua which yield well in farmers marginal soils.
Peru Early
Me in a Quinoa field in the Peruvian Altiplano near Lake Titicaca. With me is a scientist from the Minister of Agriculture involved with Proyecto Quinua and our translator (who didnt speak english).
This farmers Quinoa was small because of poor soil and seeds. We spoke to them about selecting good seeds and improving the soil. Although white Quinua is prefered by people in the cities, farmers prefer red quinua because it tastes much better, is good for a special bread and cookie, and is very nutrtitios and gives them energy. It is also less bitter and requires less washign because it has less saponins. Will write more later.
This farmers Quinoa was small because of poor soil and seeds. We spoke to them about selecting good seeds and improving the soil. Although white Quinua is prefered by people in the cities, farmers prefer red quinua because it tastes much better, is good for a special bread and cookie, and is very nutrtitios and gives them energy. It is also less bitter and requires less washign because it has less saponins. Will write more later.
One happy seed seller.
It was inspiring to see the size and number if Seedy Saturdays in BC. I was also very excited by the number of local, small-scale seed companies. The food security and seed security movement is taking the world by storm!
Canada Seedy Saturdays
Me helping to sell seeds at one of Canadas many seedy saturday. This event in Victoria was filled with seed swaps, talks, food, and nearly 2,000 people in attendance
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