Healing with Tubers and Manure

There are many ways to say "poop" in Spanish. Caca is the word most commonly used by children (or by me before I learned the more technical ag vocab for poop). Estiércol refers more specifically to poop as a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, and guano describes manure from animals like llamas, alpacas, sheep, and poultry.

In the Peruvian Altiplano, this dung is precious and essential in everyday life, used as both a natural fertilizer and fuel source. One study of a Quechua community in Puno near Lake Titihuaca found that most families preferred cattle dung to other animals because its larger size makes it easier to collect and because it burns longer and more consistently,¹ but llama dung certainly has its own advantages. Llamas defecate communally, meaning that they do their business in a few designated community spots, leaving piles of nitrogen-rich agricultural gold for farmers to find if animals are left to roam in fields rather than a corral.² 

(Llamas raised near the 7 Lagunas de Ausangate - 05/24/26)

For many farming families in the central Andes, like in the Huancavelica Region, manure is the primary if not only form of fertilization.³ Before planting potatoes, farmers spread layers of these droppings across their fields. After harvest, they often follow with a rotation of quinoa or cañihua, becuase these crops are especially tolerant to the nutrient-deficient soil left behind bythe potatoes.^1,4 These two popular crops also disrupt pest cycles, stimulating the pests to hatch but leaving them without the right plant host to continue their life cycles. The Pale Cyst Nematode in potatoes has eggs that can remain dormant in the soil for decades, but quinoa helps serve as a "trap crop" to wake them up to hatch, leaving them without a suitable host (the potato) to feed off of.⁵

(Quinoa Fields - 05/28/26)

After this second rotation, fields are then left empty for two to seven years, when grazing animals do their thing and replenish soil nutrients.^1,3 During a visit to the high-Andean Quechua community of Huama near Cusco, I was able to confirm that these nutrient-recycling practices and traditions are very much still alive and essential for sustaining good harvests. 

Our guide and community leader, Nativo, walked us through the landscape, sharing agricultural knowledge, medicinal plants and natural remedies, and cultural traditions that have supported his community for generations. But before beginning our walk, we made an offering to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) by thanking the Earth spirits around us, acknowledging each Apus, or individual mountain spirit around us, and the sacred, life-sustaining water from Andes glaciers. We placed coca leaves beneath stones as an offering to show our gratitude. 

(Coca Offering - 05/21/26)

As we passed by a woody shrub called muña (the “Andean mint”), Nativo paused to explain its medicinal role. Rich in strong and fragrant essential oils like menthol and pulegone, it has a strong, crisp, and earthy flavor and antifungal and antimicrobial properties. In the Andes, it’s commonly used to treat digestive discomfort, cold symptoms like coughs, congestion, and altitude sickness.⁶ 

Muña is also said to have fueled Incan chasquis, runners who carried messages through the mountains, which might be because it contains energy-enhancing vitamins like B1 and B6.⁷ Its oils were also used to help preserve potatoes and human remains in the cold, dry conditions of the Andes (back to mummy talk).⁷ Today, muña is a staple in my nightly routine, providing me with some warmth and a nice ailment to help my adjusting stomach.

And while potatoes play a major role in Andean food security and cultural practice, they aren’t the only roots that matter. The tuber mashua, also known as añu, according to Nativo, is used by the community as a natural contraceptive. He explained that some community members bathe in water infused with boiled mashua roots, and that it works! One lab study has confirmed this, showing that it reduced sperm count and quality,⁹ but another study showed its effects didn't reduce impregnation rate in mice,⁸ but if Nativo's attesting to mashua, I believe in its abilities.

But of course, there’s a root that serves for the flip purpose. The maca root vegetable has been used by Andean communities for centuries to boost libido and fertility,¹⁰ and several scientific studies have supported these traditional uses.^10-12 And the world has caught on – maca has become pretty widespread; you can find it in supermarkets and on Amazon. Together, mashua and maca show the diversity of crops and intimate (literally) knowledge of the land held by indigenous communities. 

(Maca Root from CIP headquarters in Lima - 05/29/26)

(Maca Commercial Product - 05/30/26)

But traditional uses for these plants don’t stop at birth control; they’re also used to color textiles. The light greens and yellows from muna and tubers like mashua, oca, and ulluaco have long been used as natural dyes. Insects contribute too, like the cochineal insect, which lives on prickly pear cactus pads, appearing as white, cotton-like clusters. 

(Cochineal Insect - bugoftheweek.com) 

During our visit to the community, we watched Francisca, a skilled textile artist, grind dried cochineal insects with a mortar and pestle, boil water, and throw in a yarn spun from llama wool and a pinch of salt into a pot to produce a vibrant, reddish-orange hue. Cochineal insect pigments are used globally to produce carmine dye that colors natural food dyes and makeup (like blush and lip gloss).¹³ In 2012, Starbucks even used carmine to color its strawberry drinks, but after people found out their drinks used insects as a base and complained, Starbucks has since moved away from it.¹⁴

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/86faed_2e1108e72c7144f496371a4664f4cdfb/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

(Dying Llama Wool with Crushed Cochineal Insect - 05/28/26)

In the Andes, these earthy colors are woven into intricate and personalized designs that often tell the story of their owner. In some Andean communities, individuals will own multiple ponchos throughout their lives, each adorned with symbols representing different achievements, milestones, and stories to represent their identity at that point in time. And these designs continue to adapt to modern times, with some ponchos today featuring laptops and phones to show that their owners received college educations. 

And all of these practices, from medicinal recipes to agriculture and weaving, are passed down generationally. Nativo told us that he began learning about agriculture when he was four or five years old, when his family started bringing him to the fields to teach him. Francisca learned weaving from her mother at a young age to bring in income for the family, but as she explained, most importantly, to develop skills for economic independence. In this way, knowledge is shared, passed on, and preserved. 

(Children Checking out the Harvest - 05/13/26)

While these Andean practices and products most importantly sustain their communities, the potatoes, quinoa, livestock, and water that originate in the Andes also support people across Peru. In Lima, on my way to visit Johnny’s ranch (Ganaderia Don Pedro), Wilmer and I grabbed a popular quinoa drink from a street vendor, made with quinoa mixed with warm fruit juice, for a quick, yummy, and nutritious source of energy for the day. I’m really really going to miss starting the morning with this delicious (rico) energy booster.

(Yummy Quinoa Drink - 05/30/26) 

Johnny’s ranching operation, based in Lima, specializes in fattening Brown Swiss cattle, a breed well adapted to high-altitude environments compared to other European strains due to its lower susceptibility to altitude sickness (known as brisket disease).¹⁵

(Brown Swiss in Ganaderia Don Pedro - 05/07/26)

Cattle begin their lives in the Andes and are important to support families by providing them with a fertilizing source, a food source, work, and transportation, and more resilience against irregular or harsh weather (being less susceptible than crops).¹⁶ For the purpose of commercial beef and dairy production, many animals are then transported to lower elevations where feed and water are more readily available due to more reliable supply chains.¹⁵ The ranch feeds its cattle cost-effective crop byproducts like corn husks, wheat residues, rice products, mineral supplements, and water from the Andes. 

(Cattle Feed - 05/07/26)

Though Johnny's ranch seems worlds away from the high Andean communities I visited, both had so much care for family, the animals, and the land. At the ranch, workers sang and danced to music and sometimes feasted together, roasting potatoes and meat in a stone pit, which reminded me a lot of the traditional Huatia oven. Johnny taught me some affectionate Peruvian phrases they throw around. Pata, meaning “buddy” or “close friend,” literally translates to “animal foot,” and signifies friend because a foot comes from a pair. Johnny’s ranch ownership and knowledge came from his father and agronomy degree. And then the cattle dung.

(Ranch Stone Pit - 05/07/26)

This ranch collected the esterico (dung) to add to worm beds (yes, worms!!! My heart is screaming!) that transform it into nutrient-rich humus (another poop-related word to add to your lingo) to support crops. In these sustainable agricultural systems, little actually goes to waste. 

Despite the drastic climatic and cultural differences between the Andes field and the urban ranch, similarities were so striking. Both places were filled with kind people, incredible food, resourcefulness, and love. In both places, I saw land stewardship and the sharing of intergenerational knowledge. Their sustainability comes from both necessity and care for the people and the land. Whether through sharing maca root with our loved ones or composting our food scraps (maybe even feeding them to worms), we can all learn from this mindset and adopt practices that support us in the long-term. 

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for my next blog, which will feature potato science and labwork to show how it can complement agriculture to promote food security and climate resilience.

Peace Out,

Lily :)

References

1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01558115

2. Researchers have also found that a single application of llama manure can significantly increase soil nitrogen levels in plants (their δ15N values) compared to some chemical fertilizers and manure from other livestock.² https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.rice.edu/science/article/pii/S0305440312003019 

3. https://cipotato.org/publications/catalogo-de-variedades-de-papa-nativa-de-huancavelica-peru/ 

4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11205141/#B31-life-14-00745 

5. https://www.potatonewstoday.com/2023/10/24/from-superfood-to-super-crop-univ-of-idaho-researchers-find-promise-in-quinoa-as-rotation-crop-to-curb-pcn/ 

6. https://caserta.cl/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Herbolaria-Ancestral-Traduccion.pdf 

7. https://www.dw.com/en/muna-an-ancient-medicinal-plant-from-the-andes/video-70280728 

8. Though lab-based studies on its effectiveness for contraceptive purposes have produced varying results. While one study conducted on rats found that though mashua consumption decreased testosterone/dihydrotestosterone levels by 45%, it didn’t reduce impregnation frequency. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7057655/

9. Another animal study found that mashua extract consumption reduced sperm production and count, decreased sperm motility, and increased abnormal sperm morphology.⁹ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21651603/

10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20691074/ 

11. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1472-6882-10-44?uid=fe7f4167s16 

12. https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/the-truth-about-maca

13. https://www.wired.com/2015/09/cochineal-bug-feature/ 

14. https://www.treehugger.com/what-is-carmine-and-why-is-starbucks-taking-it-out-of-its-products-4868638 

15. https://www.fao.org/4/x6500e/x6500e14.htm 

16. https://cgspace.cgiar.org/items/f7bd11fe-dfa3-4470-b72e-2d9c842abe53