Acting on a dream: saving the cassava
By acting on her dream, Adela Wajai Paati has helped the women of the Indigenous Awajún communities revive the growth of what had been one of their most important crops: cassava.
Alto Mayo Peru (2012-08-25) by Thomas MullerConservation International
Knowledge lost and found
When settlers from the Andes began to arrive in this stretch of northern Peru nearly 30 years ago, Indigenous tribes rented community lands to the settlers as a source of income. Over time, the Indigenous communities stopped their usual farming practices, and elders were no longer sharing their farming knowledge with younger generations.
Awajun Cassava (2022-02-07) by Marlon de AguilaConservation International
Guided by a dream
One restless night, Paati had a dream of a beautiful woman who told her where to find a cassava with medicinal properties. When she awoke, she went to the place where the woman had directed her. To her shock, she found a tiny plant there — a variety of cassava that her mother and grandmother used to speak of.
Cassava revival
Today the cassava is planted near her home and its seeds are collected for the crops of the Awajún women. So far, the women have planted more than 50,000 cassava plants, 38 different varieties, over 17 hectares. A nursery and a drying module have also been installed where training is provided to the community on cassava flour production.
A source of income, a way to protect the forest
Thanks to cassava cultivation, women are gaining income and equity with men in their community. Cassava production is also illustrating a sustainable form of agriculture that does not come at the expense of the forest. As such, it is a model that can be replicated widely in the region.
Interested in Natural history?
Get updates with your personalized Culture Weekly
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.