Yesterday the Center for the Development of the Amazonian Indigenous (CEDIA) won first place in the contest for the rescue of ancestral crops, through typical dishes, carried out within the framework of the III International VRAE Festival, organized by the Municipality of Kimbiri in Cusco. This event takes place from June 17 to 24 of this year and includes the VII Organic Coffee Festival, VII Cocoa Festival, XI Festival of native communities, XIX Regional Agricultural, Agroindustrial and Artisan Fair. It is held in the District of Kimbiri, Province of La Convencion, Cusco and is attended by native communities of Pichari, Kimbiri, as well as the local public and other neighboring districts such as Sivia, San Francisco or Pichari.
The presentation of CEDIA in the contest took place in the framework of the execution of the project “Restoration of the landscape and food sovereignty in the CC.NN. Asháninkas and Machiguengas of the Apurímac River Valley (VRA) ”financed by Nuevo Planeta-FEDEVACO. It has four components: physical and legal sanitation of their territories, strengthening of their representative organization the Organización Ashaninka y Machiguenga del Río Apurímac-OARA, community management of their forests and food security. In this last component, family ponds and ancestral crops are being implemented in integral family farms in order to recover and revalue plant species, roots and seeds. These are led by Ashaninka and Machiguenga women, who play a very important role in achieving food sovereignty. The communities with which CEDIA works with this component are Monkirenchi, Marontoari, Kiroshariato, Camavenia and Sampantuari.
In the contest for the rescue of ancestral crops, through typical dishes, CEDIA participated by exposing the different plant sources, roots and seeds produced with the Ashaninka and Machiguengas women; such as, for example, pituca, yuca, shirina, uncucha, salmera, mauna or tropical potato, kemi or native pumpkin and shonaki. Likewise, different stews were prepared based on these such as tacacho de pituca with suri, cause of pituca, among other ancestral forms of preparation, thus obtaining first place and a prize that will be delivered on the 23rd of this month.
From CEDIA we are very happy for this recognition of the work that is carried out hand in hand with the communities for the security and food sovereignty of their locality.