Sergio, at right, planing with local farmers.
| Sergio is the founder of IIDAA (Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo
Andino Amazonico) and is very passionnate about irrigation. It's a rare
moment when Sergio speaks of anything else! Starting his blog today, we
can follow him as he meets poor farmers in the high Andean Mountains,
climbing up to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) in his 4-wheel drive Toyota.
Sergio speaks Quechua, the language of the people in these villages and
can give us a peek into their lives. |
Today, I visited the hills of Mosocllacta where, for the third year in a row, the people are growing potatoes, peas and alfalfa with the help of gravity-driven irrigation.
When I was there, the farmers from the neighboring community of Pamparqu-Choquecani (3780 m high or 12,400 feet) came to see me. The president of their community, Felix Escalante, asked me to help them with a similar project to irrigate 35 hectares (86 acres) belonging to 120 families in the valleys of the Churacancca Mountains.
This project will need 1.6 km (0.6 miles) of tubes with an inverted siphon of 4 inches diameter in order to produce 20 liters of water a second enabling the farmers to have two harvests a year.
These farmers are very poor, principally because of the lack of water.
Irrigating these 35 hectares, the farmers can more efficiently use the
waters of a nearby mountain lake and grow enough food for the entire
community. The farmers have promised to provide the labor and IIDAA
will provide materials and seeds for a period of four years with the
financial help of the NGO « A Bridge to Latin America. »
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Irrigation will provide a better life in the village, encouraging young people to stay and not migrate to the overcrowded slums of the city.
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Sergio's entry in Spanish:
Hoy visité los cerros de Mosocllacta donde por tercer año vienen cultivando papa, arveja y alfalfa con riego por aspersión instalados con nuestro proyecto.
Me buscaron agricultores de una Comunidad vecina Pamparqui-Choquecani a 3,780 m.s.n.m. cuyo presidente Felix Escalante me solicita que a ellos también le ayudemos con proyecto de riego por aspersión para aprovechar 35 hectáreas de 120 familias en las faldas del cerro Churcancca, personalmente hice el trazo de 1.6 km. de conducción del agua que mediante un sifón invertido por tubería de 4" de diámetro conducirá 20 litros por segundo ( l/s) para producir 2 cosechas por año.
Son agricultores muy pobres debido principalmente a escasez de tierras con riego; incorporando 35 Ha. con riego ayudaremos a solucionar la carencia de alimentos, aprovechando eficientemente aguas de una laguna. Los agricultores se comprometen aportar la mano de obra no calificada y el IIDAA los materiales,dirección técnica, semillas y la capacitación por 4 años, gracias al aporte económico de Eng Bréck de Luxemburgo.