The origin of potatoe
December 2nd, 2008
Here is a potato field… this is the true cradle of the potato ! We are at 4200m on the Andean plateaux. The potatoes have just been sown. This morning we had a slight snow. In two month what you see there will be totally buoyant with green vegetation… not to be eaten because the eatable thing will still be hidden beneath the ground. We are between Huancayo and Huancavelica in the centre of Peru. Just after the ridge of mountains you see in the back, starts the amazonian forest… On the particular spot we are standing on, the potato has been cultivated for 8000 years…Potato is native from Perou. There are more the 2000 varieties in the Andes. Its genuine terroir gives its authentic taste. The extreme climate between 3500m and 5000m, brings its unique qualities of vitamin C and anti-oxydants. Perou is now proud to introduce the first end products made from its fabulous biodiversity and the gourmet heritage of the small andine farmers since long before the Inkas.
2008 has been declared “International Year of the Potato” by the UN, potato as an example of sustainable development and fair trade. Our project Tikka Papa is the example that fair trade can go with food security : the small producers sell their production surplus and can eat the rest… which is just the opposite of the actual labeled fair trade which deals today at 70% with coffee and cocao mostly for export and cannot be eaten by them… This is why we dont ask for a fair trade label until we are not convinced things will evolve… Though the project relies on an association of 8000 small producers, lead by them, in which we only come as advisers for agriculture and market prospectives…
