Some tools used in the Andes

In the Andes we have a couple tools for field work that seem a bit unique to the region.  Least unique among these would be the grass hook or hand scythe.  Not as common nowadays in the States, but still around.  I just watched the first episode of The Beverly Hillbillies with my kids, and noticed somebody holding a hand scythe somewhere in there.

Then there are two similar hoe/pick/shovel specimens that I cannot find very well online at all.  One of these two tools isn't sure if it's more like a hoe or a pick.  It's used for harvesting potatoes.  The blade is maybe 8- 12 inches long and 3 inches or less wide.  A sort of golf stroke, sends the blade deep into the soil under the root ball.  One good upward tug on the handle, and the whole ball comes up, you flip it to the side and scatter it (conveniently downhill in the mountains).  I haven't used other potato harvesting tools such as forks to compare results. (Conclusion: it really is equivalent to a smaller pick, but only has the blade end, no pick. I imagine that makes it a somewhat safer tool than a typical pick when working in tight clusters of three or four people.

The other of those two specimens isn't sure if it's a hoe or an edging spade.  It's great for mounding rows.  They call it a lampa.  It's probably the most similar in function to a field hoe, but looks like an edging spade that got bent way over.    This seems to be a decent example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/204138640396?hash=item2f879c740c:g:AUsAAOSwPple~Txe&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0H%2Br17KV4Z2BdRiS2qGuAvIGyVSkAgjCu5MFCL7%2BVp8DEmI97A2rfhqFVYEORnPhnJb24qbnLx0havfMbm%2BY%2B5%2FIQl9Rcn3FEezb6KysubUQ%2BhGq5zOKE33MccRwftqMxMEcY6QRmvdNucdhqYJTKRkHs%2BhAtl%2BuXG1Q0Ns6l%2B807ORH4slwl1BHuubDcRP9gYxb9bNESyfjWPZKS18C8rqV3yV8FCt8M9SF0NHnezS7vDMoAs2DZmyinneITJJqPWLS0JiacG7UCHtHyRuEoEQ%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMhvim_vVh (minus a handle) but they're still made and used today all the time.

Lastly there's a tool called the Chaquitaclla ("Chahkee tak-leah") and I did find a little video showing it off.  https://www.facebook.com/midagriperu/videos/la-chaquitaclla/849506989248696/. We haven't used it ourselves.

I could be missing something obvious because I don't have a farming background in the States, and I'm a foreigner in SA-- but I think these tools are generally distinct to Andean field work.  But if I moved back north, I'd want to imitate them.

That's really interesting. If you get an opportunity to take pictures to post, it would be really helpful.

The interesting thing to me, is that just the other day, I was picturing something similar to the Chaquitaclla and thinking how useful it would be in my heavy clay soil. The closest I could think of that I've seen in Canada would be a transplanting spade. Being able to push it into the soil using a respectfully wide foot pad (after all the video showed many people using bare feet!), but the blade being quite narrow, was exactly my thought.

So many traditional methods are being lost to the plow and big ag. There are better ways!

Jay Angler wrote:That's really interesting. If you get an opportunity to take pictures to post, it would be really helpful.

The interesting thing to me, is that just the other day, I was picturing something similar to the Chaquitaclla and thinking how useful it would be in my heavy clay soil. The closest I could think of that I've seen in Canada would be a transplanting spade. Being able to push it into the soil using a respectfully wide foot pad (after all the video showed many people using bare feet!), but the blade being quite narrow, was exactly my thought.

So many traditional methods are being lost to the plow and big ag. There are better ways!

The closest I've seen in our culture is a "dibble bar." I used one as a kid planting a bunch of trees, but I've never used one for tilling. I suppose it would work well in really tough clay, but the one I used had a rather small blade, so would be rather slow. To plant saplings, it was pushed into the ground and wiggled to open up a hole and removed. The sapling was dropped into the hole and the bar was pushed into the ground about four inches away. It was then levered towards the first hole, pushing the ground up against the sapling's roots. Water was then poured into the new hole to water the new tree. Quick way to plant! It would be a good welding project for even a beginner. Being straight, it would be ambidextrous, though possibly less efficient than the curved handle of the chaquitaclla.

I wonder if that short, curved handle would work on a mini-broadfork. It looks like levering and lifting at the same time helps break up the ground more efficiently.

I never yet buckled down and learned necessary steps to post pictures here. Once I get back to my village in a couple months I'll take pictures and figure out how to post them.

The dibble bar looks like it would work for breaking up small sections of hard packed ground.

Ironically, now I know what tool I'll want to take along anytime the village has a major tree-planting event.