Advocate • Connect September/October 2019 21
Feature
with 40% less oxygen deepens one’s appreciation of the physicality
of the work required.
Florencio estimates a batch of maca is nearly 14 years in the
making, by the time it reaches New Zealand shores. “Ten years of
soil preparation, two years of seed preparation, one year for the root
to grow, three months to dry and then one to two months to process
and bag before we export it to New Zealand.”
Although not disease-prone, maca is susceptible to mould if not
dried correctly post harvest. At Seleno Health they ensure the maca
has three months of sun drying and then heat-activation to sanitise
it. “So there is no risk to the consumer, and we analyse every batch.
Heating maca is essential to creating the bioactives. We only sell
pre-cooked activated maca.”
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Corin and Sally have a profit-sharing partnership with the San
Jose de Quero village community. “Two to four dollars from every
kilo of maca sold is donated to a fund that’s used to buy books and
school supplies for the local school, along with uniforms, shoes and
stationery for the children in the village,” Corin explains. They also
frequently teach English classes at the school.
It’s not all work though. Arriving back from the fields mid
afternoon there’s time to play football or volleyball in the town
square with the village children, who are just out from school before
household tasks like chopping wood and preparing the fire for
dinner call them all home. After the evening meal most retire early
to bed; once the sun dips below the horizon high up in the Peruvian
Andes only the maca crops stand resilient in the chill.
Anne Gastinger is a Christchurch-based writer.Above: Eco-tourists come to volunteer with the maca harvest