Racacha, the Andean root

The community of San Juan de la Miel,across the valley from Carmen Pampa, is famous in La Paz for the production of racacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza). It is a yellow, starchy, turnip-like root virtually unknown in the United States, but produced widely in South America. (It is especially delicious with peanut sauce and dried llama meat called charque, a dish sometimes called the typical dish of Coroico, Plato Coroiqueño).

Today Gerónimo Álvarez became the very last student from the first class of agronomy students in the college to graduate. His study was about the right amount of chicken manure fertilizer for racacha, a study he did in his home community, San Juan de la Miel.


Photo: Gerónimo signs a copy of his thesis before taking the agronomy's vow.

He told me today that he got an offer to head up the office of a micro-loan bank in Chulumani! We are really proud of this new graduate who complete's our set of successes, the whole graduating class of 1994.


Photo: Gerónimo and fellow San Juan de la Miel community member Milthon Calle.