The Incas developed resilient varieties of crops such as
potatoes and corn. The system of terraces at the height of Incan civilization
in the 1400s covered about one million hectares. The Spanish imposed their own
crops and over the centuries, canal beds dried up and the locals abandoned the
terraces.
According to some researchers, the Spanish conquest left as many as
half of the Incan population dead and much of the traditional knowledge for
farming was lost.
However, the ghosts of Incan farming achievements still
follow the Andes. In the corner of the Andes, the local population is breathing
new life into Incan’s ancient practice. They are rebuilding irrigation systems
like terraces and reclaiming the old traditional methods of planting crops.
An archeologist,
Ann Kendall, in the 1968 began to study on Incan architecture and artwork. She
thought about how the local people had no water and over the years learned how
Incan builders employed stones to create the best structures for water drainage
and retention systems.
She used that and over the past three decades she formed
Cusichaca Trust. Cusichaca Trust helped rehabilitate and irrigate 160ha of
terraces in the Petacancha valley. Till today, lessons from this valley are now
employed to restore Incan agricultural systems.
