Posted on June 22, 2021
Kimbiri. Within the framework of the traditional festival of San Juan, the Cusco district of Kimbiri is the venue for the XXIII Regional Agricultural, Agroindustrial and Artisan Fair 2021 and the XV Festival of Native Communities. Among the various activities, the Amazon Gastronomy Contest took place, which awarded first place to the team of the Asháninka leader and CEDIA promoter, Karina Cipriano Damian.
Karina Cipriano made a dish called “Pirijakiri” which in Spanish means “second”, made from Chitoyki (stick beans) with Maona puree (opati), with Kiri (Pijuayo) salad and tsogo (antipapa) leaf with roast Etini (armadillo), Kemi porridge (pumpkin), chicha de parenti (banana) soft drink. The combination of these foods of high nutritional value is supported by the ancestral knowledge of the Asháninka women.
All the products used to make this stew come from the whole chakras, a strategy that promotes food sovereignty in the Apurímac River Valley (VRA) area and is part of the project where CEDIA and OARA have been working hard to overcome the child malnutrition Asháninka and Machiguenga, as well as to recover the native species of the area.
The activities of the XV Festival of Native Communities took place in the Sampantuari Native Community, in the district of Kimbiri, Cusco. The gastronomic contest awards were held on June 19 of this year. These festivities that seek to encourage and show how native communities have been rediscovering and revaluing ancestral species that not only allow them to combat the shadow of child malnutrition, but also provide them with food alternatives with which they also face the COVID 19 pandemic.