Its time for our semi-annual blog update which we do whenever we have a trustworthy internet connection.
After an unusually long rainy season we have began our revitalization and conservation project in the Cachil Valley with a limited scale production of yacon honey, a natural liquid sweetner. This product will be processed throughout he next month and placed for sale in the markets of Trujillo with any profits going to the agricultural association for further infrastructure investments.
This product is revolutionary for many reasons. Probably the most important is that we are attempting value added organic processes in a rural region. Typically products are cultivated, sold at a low price and brought to the coast for industrialization. The value lost in transport is astounding: up to half the product is lost in damages.
Keepign the production process in a rural region has many benefits: farmers keep a greater majority of the margin, the product is easier to transport and the existence of a production process often leads to improvements in general infrastructure of the region.
One cannot equate “industrialization” with the typical image of a factory. When we use “industrialization” we merely refer to any process that adds value or turns a crop into a food product. The production process that Puentes is implementing in Cachil, namely turning yacon into yacon honey, does not have any non biodegradable waste nor use any electricity. The latter is impossible: the nearest power line is 5 kilometers away.
Electricity is not needed to produce yacon honey. What is needed is cooking ware and grinders. We have built a small kitchen using the locally available practices and Association Member Serafin Avalos has dedicated himself, almost obsessively, to building a more efficient hand operated yacon grinder. In the meantime we rely on locally available grinders and juice squeezers to extract yacon sugars.
During the week of May 12th we formed a “minga,” or a collective work force, and harvested approximately 5,000 kilos of yacon. Mingas are an old tradition in rural Peru. If one has a large harvest he or she will call on community members to help. The payment is a day’s worth of food. Sitting in on a minga, as we have done, is a good time to catch wind of the latest local gossip and hear the folklore and the songs of a region as workers will match their harvest speed with whip fast commentary on anything to pass the time. As of date the yacon being fermented in the sun to increase its sweetness. Come next week the training process begins.
I cannot close without mentioning a bit about Serafin. Serafin is one of the most dedicated association members. He led the minga and was responsible for many of the ever so slightly off color jokes that flew around. Serafin has no formal education, like nearly all residents, but is one of these people who knows how things work: he is the areas go to guy for all problems. Therefore his role as production designer is crucial.
And one should never bet him a bottle of beer to take apart a car, put it back together and drive it to Cascas three hours away. They will lose. As we understand it. Serafin, being humble (or not wanting to lose his chances at a cool brew) will not corroborate this, but we have heard…
After an unusually long rainy season we have began our revitalization and conservation project in the Cachil Valley with a limited scale production of yacon honey, a natural liquid sweetner. This product will be processed throughout he next month and placed for sale in the markets of Trujillo with any profits going to the agricultural association for further infrastructure investments.
This product is revolutionary for many reasons. Probably the most important is that we are attempting value added organic processes in a rural region. Typically products are cultivated, sold at a low price and brought to the coast for industrialization. The value lost in transport is astounding: up to half the product is lost in damages.
Keepign the production process in a rural region has many benefits: farmers keep a greater majority of the margin, the product is easier to transport and the existence of a production process often leads to improvements in general infrastructure of the region.
One cannot equate “industrialization” with the typical image of a factory. When we use “industrialization” we merely refer to any process that adds value or turns a crop into a food product. The production process that Puentes is implementing in Cachil, namely turning yacon into yacon honey, does not have any non biodegradable waste nor use any electricity. The latter is impossible: the nearest power line is 5 kilometers away.
Electricity is not needed to produce yacon honey. What is needed is cooking ware and grinders. We have built a small kitchen using the locally available practices and Association Member Serafin Avalos has dedicated himself, almost obsessively, to building a more efficient hand operated yacon grinder. In the meantime we rely on locally available grinders and juice squeezers to extract yacon sugars.
During the week of May 12th we formed a “minga,” or a collective work force, and harvested approximately 5,000 kilos of yacon. Mingas are an old tradition in rural Peru. If one has a large harvest he or she will call on community members to help. The payment is a day’s worth of food. Sitting in on a minga, as we have done, is a good time to catch wind of the latest local gossip and hear the folklore and the songs of a region as workers will match their harvest speed with whip fast commentary on anything to pass the time. As of date the yacon being fermented in the sun to increase its sweetness. Come next week the training process begins.
I cannot close without mentioning a bit about Serafin. Serafin is one of the most dedicated association members. He led the minga and was responsible for many of the ever so slightly off color jokes that flew around. Serafin has no formal education, like nearly all residents, but is one of these people who knows how things work: he is the areas go to guy for all problems. Therefore his role as production designer is crucial.
And one should never bet him a bottle of beer to take apart a car, put it back together and drive it to Cascas three hours away. They will lose. As we understand it. Serafin, being humble (or not wanting to lose his chances at a cool brew) will not corroborate this, but we have heard…
