To the mountains we go

My first seven weeks in Peru were spent at CIP’s headquarters in Lima. This is where the majority of CIP’s work in Peru is based. In addition to headquarters in Lima, there are two additional stations in Peru: Huancayo and San Ramon.

CIP Huancayo at 3,259 meters above sea level

After an eight hour bus ride into the mountains, I arrived in Huancayo with Wendy. Wendy is the Supervisor for the Lima and San Ramon experimental stations. The Huancayo did not prove to be too much of an obstacle past a faint headache and the constant reminder to not exert myself.

Overlooking the fields at CIP-Huancayo

While in Huancayo I was able to visit the greenhouses where the breeding programs work to produce potato seeds with desired traits. These traits include, but are not limited to, draught tolerance, resistance to late blight, and an viability for shorter growing seasons. I also toured the fields and seed storage facilities which were about 10 minutes away by car.

Because of the climate in Huancayo, the potato seeds are able to be stored in open screen houses

We were only in Huancayo for one day before hopping on an early morning bus headed for San Ramon, which was about four hours away.

San Ramon’s mountains are lush with greenery

San Ramon’s climate was vastly different than anything that I had experienced before, in Peru or otherwise. The morning we arrived, it had just stopped raining so it was very hot and sticky. The dirt walkways around the station were also quite muddy and slippery.

As seen around CIP-San Ramon’s campus

After spending the previous seven weeks in a very cool, wet area, the change in temperatures to steamy and jungle-like were welcome. I enjoyed walking around the fields were camote (sweet potatoes) were being cultivated. The CIP station was strategically placed in San Ramon because of the parallels in the climate with sub saharan Africa where CIP’s interests include camote with high levels of Vitamin A.

Pollenating camote plants in the screen house at CIP-San Ramon

Thankfully, the second day in San Ramon included lots of sunshine and even a trip to a nearby town that was home to a coffee export center, Chanchamayo Highland Coffee. Wendy and I were able to taste test and learn about different coffee varieties. It was a welcome break from work.

Chanchamayo Highland Coffee, La Merced

Thursday evening meant it was time to head back to Lima by bus. I am very grateful for the opportunity to see more of Peru and learn more about CIP’s work in these places.

¡Saludos!

Kaci