“A Permie Goes to Peru”

- A link to the full article I wrote about an awe inspiring recent trip to the Sacred Valley and Cusco in the Peruvian Andes, with an excerpt below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRmXjNFBYhBxD3B4YIWuBHsfUffP9j_XlGhJxU7giibnJpFjGx3XsP-tCqIoS4ydLgTHmGz_jCXMsPp/pub

- Shorter version (similar to below but with  pictures and their explanations…I tried posting pictures here but as always have experienced technical problems doing so) posted to Water Stories:

https://community.waterstories.com/posts/a-permie-goes-to-peru


“Permaculture Permeating the Peruvian Andes:

Resilience can only be demonstrated in challenging conditions. I cannot imagine a better example of a resilient, permanent culture deeply founded in its place than what I saw in the Sacred Valley of the Peruvian Andes. Peru has endured centuries of Spanish colonialism, genocide, systemic and pervasive grave and natural resource robbery, economic and political volatility, and now an inundation of tourists like myself at its most famous sites. Still, throughout the Cusco region and the Sacred Valley, Inkan/Quechua foundations persist in the culture and literally at the base of innumerable structures, from small mountainside homes to trails, churches, and city streets.

I have done rock work on several trail and restoration crews in the mountains of California and Washington, and have worked on our 25-acre mountainside property just south of the Oregon border for five years. I have been so lucky as to travel to see many of the great architectural works of Italy, France, Ireland and Norway. I thought I had seen some great–and done some decent–rockwork. This was before seeing innumerable, unbelievably unique, perfect Peruvian stone structures. These earthworks weave a beautiful, vibrant and resilient Quechua culture into the Andean mountainsides, one which could not be shaken off by earthquake, flood, fire, landslide, or Spanish attempts at conquest. Inkan civilization–and its integrally related Quechua culture today–both built and was made possible by extensive, exquisitely built terraces. These earthworks create microclimates and instigate soil sedimentation rather than erosion–slowing, spreading, and sinking water while raising human population and longevity in a virtuous positive feedback cycle.

Water is a particularly precious and unpredictable element in any high, steep mountains. The Himalayas are higher, but I do not think mountains get any steeper than the Andes. Several pre-Inka civilizations rose and fell with their success and failure in designing with water. For millennia preceding the relatively brief Inkan Imperial era (1438-1533), innovative irrigation systems helped grow populations that crashed when El Nino-La Nina correlated floods overwhelmed them, followed by drought and famine. Feats of agricultural engineering inspired support of the leaders who organized their construction, and subsequent failures from flooding, drought and disrepair were likewise held against them, leading to popular dissent and the dissolution of their dynasties.  As water workers, we can learn from this if we want our work to last and instigate more regenerative projects. It can only help if we make our work inspirationally beautiful as well as functional, and it is always wise to overbuild and oversize our dams and spillways, even if preserving our political dynasty is low on our list of priorities. We may not share the Inkan goal of annexing adjacent cultures with awe inspiring works of water cycle restoration, but it probably would not hurt the world if we did.”

(attempting to post photo attached below) - Moray, at above 12,000ft, where Inkans brought plants from the high Andes and the Amazon below to test and acclimatize them for broader use. Microclimate crop testing crater on right, hydration testing terraces on left. Drainage and soil strata on the right side was thoroughly designed, with ocean sand brought in for the base, and Amazonian terra preta topsoil for plants brought from the lowlands. The bottom levels on the right apparently never flood. Duality of circularity representing the sun (male), and a crescent for the moon (female), were built into this site, like many others. Beauty and cultural meaning were built into many functional structures. To get the attention to detail and exertion needed to build this, I think inspiration must have been very important for the architects, builders and occupants. Beauty, meaning, and function form a positive feedback loop

This was inspiring to read through and imagine the work that went into typing out your thoughts, memories and experiences. I appreciate these posts a lot on here because they are fun to read aloud to our son (almost 3) and learn about the world beyond our view from the front porch (which happens to be a stunning sunrise view each morning.) Thank you for your share & I would love to learn about your journey within the SKIP program, badges, Permies site here and all. We are beginners and are looking to take this education, hands on opportunities & online research to the next level in the next few months before we plan to move out of the country. Currently in a small town in Minnesota, ready to move to Costa Rica, Argentina or Mexico— yet open to almost anywhere!