TERRITORIAL MODEL PRODUCTION FOR THE DAWE (Chenopodium quinoa Willd):

THE MAPUCHE FARMERS’ PROTOCOLS, AN EXPERIENCE OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN THE SOUTH OF CHILE

Abstract type : Short presentation
Submitted by : Max Thomet
Authors and Speakers : Max THOMET - 1Ingeniero Agrónomo, mthomet@cetsur.org, CET-SUR, PostBox 201. Temuco. Tel.: (45) 37 54 21;

Information about other authors :

Corporación KOM KELLUAYIN², Asociación ÑANKUCHEO³

² Association of Mapuches community, Villarrica - CHILE

³ Association of Mapuches community, Lumaco - CHILE

• Objective of the paper

The Objective of this paper is to present the experience of Mapuches’ farmers in creating their owner certification system to protect and control the marketing and agricultural, gastronomic and cultural attributes of the quinoa (Mapudungun language: Dawe) – Chenopodium quinoa Willd.

• Originality and main contribution

The Dawe (Quinoa) on Mapuche territory has been described from the arrival of the colons. Diverse documents like letters, binnacles of trips and botanical identifications by the first naturalists of this period detailed its morphological characteristics and uses that Mapuche was giving (Letters of Pedro de Valdivia (1545) to the King Carlos V, Ignacio Molina (1810), Claudio Gay (1835), the priest Wilhelm Moesbach (1920) and Ricardo Latcham (1922)). Nerveless in the last 50 years this crop almost disappeared, the current paradox is that for a great part of the peasants in the south of Chile, the Dawe is considered to be an unknown crop (Thomet et. al, 2001).

To explain the process of the lost of this Indigenous crop, we can summarize it within these three points. The first situation appeared during the colonization (final of the 19th century). Pejorative expressions relatives to the medicine or the food Mapuche have been listened as “food of Indians or food of poor people " and have generated a great opposition between local food and European introduced food. This situation adds on having installed the churches in the territory that prohibit the Mapuche ceremonies and all the expressions related to theirs. Diverse preparations used for Mapuche religious events, were usual as the Mudai prepared with Dawe. The loss of the local rituals has a direct impact in the loss of the biodiversity.

A second reason corresponded to the social policies that execute the promotion of the Children’ nourishment plans which transformed the food Indigenous’ culture. The “new food” differed at the local culinary, and promote an accustoming of the children’ taste to other flavours. Rapidly, the rice and the noodles are going to displace the Dawe and other preparations that were daily inside the family Mapuche.

The third reason was the disregard for the local knowledge. Since the 60', the technical agrosystems are incorporated high yield varieties, mechanization, agrochemicals for improve the production. The programs of agricultural modernization and the technological packages of the « green revolution », which are established in the whole Chile, with Mapuche and not Mapuche farmers. With the new technologies and high yield varieties of crops, the researchers and, agronomists, would be more relevant that the farmer knowledge, imposing new forms for agriculture and new agricultural species. Finally during the 80’, the privatization of the Mapuche land changed radically the system from a collective to an individual labour. The policies impacts on the agriculture system and the community forms of production will not be seen. An example of the relationship on the agriculture system with the properties form was the utilization of community « corralones » for animals. Its great size and high accumulated fertility was allowing for the food production, where obtain a high yields for Dawe. The recovery of this crops by a strategy of « Farmer certification or protocol », conserve the biodiversity and the traditional model of production that strengthen the food sovereignty into Mapuches territories. In addition, this strategy allows differing on the market across a signal that distinguishes the form and the origin of the production.

• Method

This study systematizes the results of a work between the years 2006 to 2009 developed with Mapuche organizations interested in recovering the Dawe crops and generates a model system to auto regulate the production and marketing chain. The Dawe protocol has been designed design and builds with a participative methodology with researches and farmers (Bellon, 2002) during two phases. The first one was develop across workshops, interviews and focal groups realized with three types of actors; a) Rural specialists in the crops, b) professionals of gastronomy and, c) Researcher with experience in agricultural biodiversity. This would allow determining which the specific attributes that were characterizing the Dawe in agronomic, culinary and cultural aspects.  In the second phase, a work developed as a whole with territorial Mapuche organizations (Corporation Villarrica's Kom Kelluayin and the Association Ñankucheo de Lumaco), defining in a participative way the model who allows to protect the attributes (grain, system and market); the mechanisms of auto regulation that allow to protect the protocol in their application and a system of follow-up for a fulfillment the agreements by the affiliated family.

• Results

A comparative analysis among  certification models who allow to protect attributes of production system, it was compared (Tab.1) : a) An organic certification; b) A participative certification and, c) Farmer Protocols,  present differences in any areas as the aims, control systems  and mechanisms of membership.

Table N°1: Comparative analysis of certification models for agricultural food.

This territorial model for the Dawe crops, is elaborated with principles that are sustained in: a) a productive base of territorial character, based on a familiar handcrafted according Mapuche principles, b) the recovery of the historical and cultural root, c) a familiar  and organizational control of the productive - commercial process, e) the recovery and use of the local calendar, and, f) the strengthening of the local food system that protects the biodiversity as collective patrimony for food sovereignty.

This farmer protocols protects the attributes of the local agriculture system. It can recognize by a Signal or Stamp which allows guaranteeing a quality from the owner farmers in the market.

Keywords :
Quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa Willd, Mapuche, Certification, Traditional Agriculture system