Kamayoq schools in the Andes
Practical Action operates a training scheme for farmers in the Peruvian Andes - locally trained farmers known as "kamayoqs".
Practical Action's Kamayoq School in Sicuani in the Canchis province of Peru is shared with the local church. At the school, leaders, chosen by their communities, undertake training by Practical Action technical staff in animal husbandry (alpaca herding) and farming techniques.
There is training, delivered in the local language Quecha, in general animal health as well as specific training for alpaca herders. This training takes one year and participants are given a certificate. Once trained, then they join the Association of Kamayoqs, which meets 6 times a year for 'revision classes'. About 25 Kamayoqs are trained each year.
The work focuses on different activities, depending on the area in which the farmers are working. The main areas of training are irrigation and animal husbandry. They experiment with traditional remedies to see which are the most effective and pass the successful techniques on at the school.
The design and construction of alpaca shelters is a skill developed at the school. Already 200 shelters have been built.
Farmers are also taught how to avoid their animals catching diseases and to avoid landslides by sensible use of the land. Families, children and teachers are also involved - it is community learning and the community benefits.
Felicitas Quispe Pucho from Communidad Chari, Distrito Checarupe said:
"The most important thing in being part of this has been the improvement in self confidence and trust within our local communities. I've learnt so much about animals that I didn't know before and which I can share with the local community. The involvement of women has won greater respect from the community. My husband is really pleased about my involvement because we can both work to make lives better. As well as that my income has risen and I've got a much better standard of living."
When asked about a typical day, Gregorio Flores Roa from Comunidad Llallahui, Distrito Masranjan described his day as being like this.
"I'm an alpaca farmer. I've got 50 alpaca. I get up before 5 am and take them to pasture. Most of the day is spent moving them around to make sure they get the best possible grass. At night I take them back down to shelter. I breed them for their wool, because that gives me the best money in the market, although we do use them for meat as well. At the moment I'm also trying to classify them by colour, hair length etc so that we can make sure we produce the best possible breed."
Natural medicine for farmers in the Andes
Communities in the Peruvian Andes are among the poorest in Peru with high illiteracy rates and low incomes. Families are dependent on agriculture to survive and their cattle, sheep and llamas roam the higher zones of the mountains.
A parasitic disease known as sheep liver fluke causes lower milk yields for these farmers. This disease affects both sheep and cattle in the Andes and is spread by snails. The parasite rarely kills the livestock, but infected animals weigh a third less than healthy ones and cows produce 50 per cent less milk, which means a reduced income for farmers. They cannot afford conventional medicines to treat their animals, so the animals' health deteriorates and they often die from secondary diseases.
Practical Action have helped to develop an affordable and effective treatment for sheep liver fluke. Using a blend of local herbs, a medicine has been formulated which farmers themselves can easily make from locally available plants.
Practical Action's training scheme for farmers - locally trained farmers known as kamayoqs - was vital to the success of this project. The kamayoqs were able to show farmers how to make and administer the medicine as well as teach them new ways of using the increased quantities of milk produced by the healthier animals for yoghurt and cheese production.
Farmers throughout the Peruvian Andes are now producing the medicine and starting to build a better future.
María Huamán Quispe, a kamayoq from the Sicuani district involved in the development of this medicine says: "We've learnt a lot through agricultural experimentation and at the Kamayoq School. Now I raise improved pigs. I was given these animals by the community of Pichura and I shared them with my neighbour. I also built a small stable for five heads of cattle and I have become a specialist in fattening bulls. All this has been done with ITDGPractical Action's support. My husband and I dedicate ourselves to taking care of our animals, pastures and crops with better techniques."
Alpaca shelters
Alpaca shelters are constructed for the protection of baby alpacas and weak animals. In winter, up to 50 alpacas can be kept warm in each shelter, making sure they will survive until the spring. In the summer, the shelters are used for shearing the alpacas and sorting the wool. They are used to protect pregnant alpacas too - vital to the recovery of the herds as the cold causes many miscarriages.
Hydroponics systems are used to grow barley for alpacas. Hydroponics systems need just water and sunlight to grow food. In two weeks, barley grains grown in a trough of water can be milled, formed into blocks and enriched with syrup. These energy-packed blocks of barley keep the alpacas healthy and strong when they would otherwise starve.
