Les Foodingues

This dense scrubland was considered as bad, against breeding and agriculture. In fact it is a living treasure :

It has more than ten varieties of colibris and hummingbirds (far to difficult to get a picture of), not to mention all kind of eagles, vultures and six nest of the big condor… as well as a couple of spectacular big kari bustards of which the male is over 4 feet high. You have wild “quaras” as well, the small wild llamas and big cats “cougars” which share the territory.

When one handle cattle, the puma can be a great help as well : the cows know how to fight it but its presence maintain it in a permanent alert and make it move. When the puma plays its’ role properly, it is a great help to avoid over pasture, while cleaning at the same time and eliminating the wounded and diseased cattle.

Nature plays its’ role. One must observe, understand and let be.

Let us come back to the richness of this chaotic place invaded by smalla acacias. First its biodiversity :

We are on the original cradle of tabocco, its’ original biome. You have taboccos of any kind and shape here and Diana who decided to stop smoking each time she picked a plant… it was a tabacco. Here are some photos of this sacred plant…

We start by this sacred plant which is intermediary between man and Gods, which intercedes for peace at the table of the angels; the plant which is pollinated by the hummingbirds. One must protect tobacco at any price to shelter the magical bird (Tobacco glauca on the high left can be smoked withou fermentation). In the US and Canada Indian tribes are trying to find back the meaning and the spirit of this sacred plant. Stop smoking to link back with the true rite of tobacco is a way to find back the foundation of their culture, their identity. This plant is man.

Now essential oils : first the arbustiv verveina, Aloisia sp., the one which was the fortune of the perfume maker of Grasse in France, l’Eau du Coq, l’Eau de Cologne… in the XVIII century this plant has been introduced on the banks of the Mediterranee. Here we are on the original biome, where the strength and the wide palette of the perfume expresses itself at its’ utmost. Here we are in front of tons of olfactiv treasures; production can start whenever. But it has to be with a sustainable way, to keep its’ wild strength. The essential oil must be produce with the French techniques with steam being very cautious that the oil is preserved from heat once it is extracted not to become carcinogenous. Extracts from the other plants above will be analysed with the help of the university of Tucuman to have an idea of the composition and the interest of heir essential oils.

Wild food are numerous on this territory, some of them are some of the most important of all human food: the wild potato, the origine of all potatoes in the world, the wild pumpkin, wild peas, wild garlic… the Andes elder tree which is here an impressive tree, the delicious Berberis, the wild peaches, the wild radish, and among all the now famous maca of the Andes, the funny aphrodisiac turnip with its bitter chocolate taste, the most concentrated vegetable in minerals and vitamins, for which everyday there is a bigger market in the world…

And splendour! over the top of the lapachos, Uncaria tomentosa, cat’s claw, which have the delicacy to alternate its bright yellow flowers with the pink flowers of the lapacho, the emblematic tree of North West Argentina. Both of these plants are concidered as a priority for the World Health Organisation to produce medicine against cancer. The production of these two plants can be a perfect example of permaculture.

white and red Begonia, hypomeas, arum, uncarias, solenaceas, cacti, lianas, creepers… so many wild plants that we are familiar to in our European gardens. Apparently thare are many more left to be tamed…

Like this huge arbustiv jasmin, Mandevilla sp., whith its tantalizing fragrances…

There is not only cattle, soja and cereal to be produced in the world! It seems that Argentina only knows these boaring productions. One must be attentive to nature and it will open new horizons. This is all the art of agriculture design. Create products and productions which can seduce neew markets away from the usual distributors and the standard agriculture market, insecure and unpersonal.

The second step consist in observing and research on the terrain to understand about all the natural resources we can count on :

• biodiversity
• the composition, the state of the soils and the dynamic of their ressources (water, nutriments, sustainability, climat evolution…) throughout a study of the boi indicative plants.
• the agriculture capacities and its’ limits natural, technical as well as human.

All these elements will constituate the basis of the specidfications needed to manage this domain, its’ needs and the adjustments to operate in priority..

The only way to work on 100 000 acres of valleys and mountains, on horses, 7 hours a day, with a gaucho as a guide. Gérard Ducerf on a horse back? Is a picture you have never seen.

• biodiversity : After two weeks, we have estimated that the domain has more than 1200 of native species, which is about one fifth of all the flora in France; amazing… Among them bromes and rubiaceas, forrage plants which have been exported in the XIXth century to feed American and European cattle.
• In general the plants encountered indicate a rich soil but fragile. A high tendency to dissociate itself immidiatly when signs of over grazing appear. A certain tendency of canyon creation because of ill-agricultural practices in places is to be looked carefully.
• The cowshit does not degrade itself: the systemic insecticide treatments of the cattle is to strong; cow shit became now an insecticide; the necrophage insects do not play their role anymore.
• A main concern is to feed the cattle in winter, when freezing temperatures and the lack of water stops the growth of the forrage. The Agronomic engineers have introduces since four years chemicals to produce genetically modified soja and corn (GMO)… as it is a common practice in Argentina.

Here is a canyon which is ready to wipe out a 1000 acres downwards and which needs to be stopped in priority.

Our specifications will turn around 3 main axis :

• stop erosion;
• bring the domain to a complete autonomy by improving the managment of the natural ressources;
• a better managment of irrigation and forrage to get rid of all chemical products and genetically modified annual plants;
• a better awareness of the richness of medicinal plants that enhance the immune defenses of the cattle, as well as rubiaceas which allows a bigger production of meat with the same quantity of forrage..

One must keep in mind that corn and soja are useless to produce meat, it is like to feed someone with only sweets.

On a field like the above, at least 4 harvest of forrage can be made. One must cut it just when the balance of proteines and cellulose is reached, it will get the best nutrition coefficient as well as a good variety of medicinal plants.

It is urgent to do something about saving the soils :
To act on the ground and make soil diagnosis in order to bring adapted solutions to each place, culture, agriculture and pollution.

It is important to communicate on how the soil works. The soil is alive… We human beings are more than 7 billion and still 80% of the life is under the ground. These beings are far more older then us. They have been organised for some million years before us and will survive us the same.

One must understand how the soil works before doing anything with it and risking to destroy it.

More and more when you speak with a farmer today, he tells you that after all these years cultivating, th only thing he doesn’t really know about is how his soil works… its composition he knows of it with analysis made with labs, but its’ dynamic? Its bacterian life, its Fungi… Nothing of all this.

Farmers in Europe are realizing this more often every day, it brings Big Hope.

A foundation created to compensate the carbon emissions with actions for the environment all around the planet…

Its’ first action: financing a plantation of eucalyptus in Chile to help the Mapuche Indians… Lets remember first, that eucalyptus is a tree from the Australian desertic steppe, which dreams to recreate the condition of its primary biome. To do so, it drinks 1400pints water a day, which he evaporates quickly and sprays its antibacterian essential oils by spreading bits of bark and leaves all around. Nothing grows under the eucalyptus it is well known by everybody. Neither can the vegetables of the Mapuche Indians …

Its’ last initiative in India: to distribute light Pyrolyse ovens to cook with the methane of the wood and produce light carbon as side product. And here start the desaster again. He teaches the farmers to turn over the soil and dig the carbon into it … convinced that it can play the role of a sponge as a reserve of extra water!

In fact this is what happens: first by encouraging the Indians to array it provoques carbon and methane emissions in the atmosphere by decomposing the anaerobiotic bacterial world which is suddenly at the surface…

The mycelial and bacterial world has been destroyed by the work of the farmer. It cannot play anymore its role of transforming the carbon into digestable organic matter for agriculture. It becomes then fossile carbon which is bound to asphyxiate all life at the surface of the soil, a bit like too much carbon in the atmosphere if you like. It empeaches the water to penetrate in the ground and provokes erosion.

One must never dig carbon into the ground, it kills its dynamic. Soil is not sewage.

To justify that digging carbon into the ground keeps water into the ground, is to aknoledge a profound mis-knowledge of the ground and of the way it works:
The soil is made of aerobian bacterias on the surface and anaerobian bacteria under. They exchange water, minerals and metals, which is how water can penetrate into the ground deep under. This is also the way bacteria are feeding the plants.

The porous carbon if becoming a sponge will forbid this process and provoque excess of water, hydromorphisms which can hinder the growth of plants like wheat for example.

This is how one can bring a green revolution to rot with the best intentions of the world and provoke famine in a short time.

In India, according to the journalist Palagummi Sainaith, a farmer commits sucide every 30 minutes, because he does not produce enough for his family and cannot assume his credit taken to finance a “modern” agriculture that we are pushing him to get into, while using all his own gods as advertisement.

Please stop this programme which can create a famine shortly, which India does not need.

Solutions are many to get rid of carbon.

One solution to repair this catastrophy would be first to stop turning over the soil. Sow directly in the herbs or ten days before harvesting the previous crop.
Sow a mix of leguminous and graminees and inoculate them with fungis endomycorrhizal (Glomus sp. ), ectomycorrhizal (Rhizopogon sp.) and Trichoderma sp. Cut the herbs or throw the stems…
You can add carbon if you want… but maximum half a teaspoon per acre… if not not you will harvest less.

The spores by setting a mycorrhizal net will feed on carbon and transform it in sugar to bring it directly to the plants… if you have too much carbon you wont favour the correct mix of fungi which can boost your crops.

One advise to get rid of the carbon while creating life : inspire yourself from nature!

Get rid of the carbon by creating revenues in cultivating morels ! They will eat carbon to produce wonderfull and expensive mushrooms, which will bring more money than by destroying the soil!

Another solution would be to frow you carbon in the irrigation damp and inoculate it with microalgaes or cyaniobacterias and produce diesel! So the Indians will be able to thank you and even finance your next projects …

Since 2004 we are consultants for the T’ikapapa project in the Andes to support

in  Peru, the origin of the potato and its’ biodiversity. We are working on its’ dvelopment, its’ organic agriculture, fairtrade, the creation of product lines, design and esthetic, its’ distribution.

Tika Papa has been granted with 3 international awards for the environment and development among the most prestigious in the world.

The 2006 Gold Medal of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) for food security.

The SEED AWARD 2007 from the United Nations, the UNDP and the UNEP (UN Programmes for Development and Environment)

The NEWSWEEK & BBC WORLD CHALLENGE 2007 elected by the viewers best development project of the year.

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The authentic taste of potato at its’ very origine…

We are in the very native biotope of the potato. At last we can taste of the first potatoes as the first Europeans who discovered it in Peru in 1532, thanks to the Inkas of the Andes.

With TIKA PAPA we have created a line of product, fun and full of beans, colours and surprises for the palate of the most demanding gourmets, thanks to the most incredible biodiversity in the world whith over 250 varieties still cultivated by the 8000 small producers we are working with, betwin 3500/5000m high in the heart of the Cordillera :

THE ANDES’ MASH :

the YELLOW ANDES’ MASH,
the RED ANDES’ MASH,
the BLUE ANDES’ MASH

100% ORGANIC, no pesticide, No added colour, no additive of any sorte.
We left the skin of the potato in order to keep its’ authentic aroma but above all, all the goodies for the health, its’ vitamin C, its’ calcium, its’ phosphore, its’ natural antioxydants which are in higher quantities than in any other potatoe due to the extreme heights and pure conditions of culture.

Then they are processed with extreme attention so as to preserve 80% of the goodies of the fresh potatoe.

Each colour has its’ specific taste and texture for the greatest joy of the gourmets :

- the yellow potato is the mythical potatoes dreamt by the most exigent gourmets of the world ; it is slightly sweet and onctuous . Once tasted, you can will never forget it.

- The red potato, with red flesh, is spécific to Peru – the Conquistadores just forgot to import it – it is more aromatic, sweet, with a slightly balsamic taste. It has a stronger texture and personality than the yellow potato. It is the one the children prefer.

- the blue potato, it is the most creativ: the less sweet, with more texture than the others which allows more creativity. It strikes by it’s intense colour which allows playing with stronger aromatic notes and texture.

Theodore has created the first multidisciplary centre on Africa, the IFAN of Dakar. When the split of Africa was made after the Independence, he had prepared maps of each country, respecting the ethnic and cultural particularities. Nobody listened to him.

Big names of the African culture have been revealed by him like Amadou Hampate Ba, film makers like Jean Rouch…
Monod the African