Peru Women Rescue 28 Ancestral Crops From Extinction

In southeastern Peru, a group of Indigenous women are racing to save vegetables that have fed their people for generations, and they're winning.

Gabriela Loaiza Seri and 14 other Machiguenga women in San José de Koribeni have rescued 11 varieties of magona potato and 17 types of traditional yuca since 2023. These crops were disappearing as younger people left for cities and foreign agriculture pushed out native plants.

The magona potato is unlike anything you'll find in a supermarket. Its flesh comes in white, cream, yellow, or purple, each color offering a completely different flavor. The tuber grows like a vine, weaving through diverse gardens filled with papaya, cacao, corn, and banana trees.

But here's what makes this story special: The women follow ancient rules passed down through generations. They plant magona potatoes only before 10 in the morning, just as their grandmothers taught them. If planted later, the crop fails.

Loaiza Seri, a 32-year-old tropical agronomy engineer and two-time community chief, trusts these methods completely. "I studied agronomy and have university knowledge," she says. "But I highly esteem the ancestral techniques we have from our people's traditions."

The group calls themselves Mujeres Emprendedoras de Raíz Amazónica (Entrepreneurial Women of Amazonian Roots). They started with just eight women and one small seed plot in 2023.

Their farms use zero agrochemicals or machinery. Instead, they work with black soil that smells pleasant and rich, creating diverse gardens where crops grow together naturally.

The Ripple Effect

The rescued crops now feed the entire community year-round. The women transform magona potatoes into flours and snacks sold under their brand Kipatsi, strengthening both their income and food security.

Their success has already earned them their own small processing plant. What began as a desperate effort to save disappearing vegetables has become a thriving business model that honors tradition while building futures.

According to Machiguenga legend, the Moon fell in love with a young woman eating mud shaped like vegetables. He gave her sacred seeds and taught her to plant, making women the guardians of these crops ever since.

Today, these 14 women are proving that ancestral knowledge and modern challenges can work together beautifully.