Young people revaluing rural gastronomy

"A long time ago I did not see this dish" - many residents commented during the agrobiodiversity fair "Sabores y saberes andinos" to which, as representative of YPARD Perú, I was invited to be part of the jury of the gastronomic contest organized by a group of young people that are part of YPARD. 

Let's learn a little more about the work they do.

The Santiago de Carampoma district is located east of the department of Lima, capital of Peru,  in the Andes at 3400 meters above sea level. Carampoma has many tourist attractions and is a land where a great diversity of crops grows, especially because of the climate, the flagship product of Peru: the potato.

Unfortunately, this crop that has more than 5000 varieties has been losing space in the lands of Carampoma for not being demanded by the market. Currently, the Native Roots project seeks the recovery of native potatoes from the Community.

This project was born in 2016, thanks to a group of five university students. YPARD Peru carried out a project that sought to articulate urban youth to the reality of rural youth and for this, the contestants had to contact a rural community. This is how Raíces Nativas was born and to this day projects are still being worked with the support of the community and the municipality. Roots Natives proposes to revalue the ancestral wisdom through the:

• Recovery of native potatoes
• Recovery of the gastronomic use of Andean food
• Andean recovery
• Promotion of sustainable economic activities

Peruvian cuisine is recognized worldwide; as well as, the diversity that products that Peru has. However, according to figures from INEI (National Institute of Statistics and Information Technology) in 2017, chronic malnutrition in children under 5 years of age at the national level was 10% and in some departments, it reaches values of up to 32%. For this reason, Raíces Nativas promoted the organization of the "Fair of Andean Flavors and Knowledge" with the aim of promoting the use of Andean food in the population, which are very nutritious and above all are grown in the same district.

This fair was attended by 35 people or organizations registered, which competed for the best salty dish, the best sweet dish and the most innovative dish. There were three winners in the first two categories (salty and sweet) and a single winner in the third category. 

This activity was organized on July 29, the day on which the Independence of Peru is celebrated, and which brings together not only locals but also tourists who come to visit the tourist attractions of the area.

Share the commitment

The work being done by this group of young people committed to rural development will be shared in the next event entitled "Realities of Rurality" organized by the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP) and the University Antonio Ruiz de Montoya under the project of the Group of Rural Dialogue (GDR) * funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in October.

We will tell you more about this key event, which we will participate in as part of the Rural Dialogue Group in Peru!

 

Photo credit: Flor de maría Prado