La Paz on Foot, a locally owned and operated responsible tourism company based in La Paz, Bolivia, has launched its Andean Food & Farms Tours for 2013. This year, La Paz on Foot is offering two tours in November and December. The 16-day tour travels from Peru’s coastal capital of Lima to the mid-elevation farming valleys of Arequipa and the Sacred Valley to the heights of Lake Titicaca and Bolivia’s vast altiplano as you explore the food and farming systems of the Central Andes. La Paz on Foot’s expert guides and local partners accompany you as you visit farms, markets and restaurants and meet with community organizations and small businesses committed to agricultural sustainability throughout the region.
The Central Andes is one of the world’s agricultural cradles, with many of today’s major global food crops domesticated here, most notably the potato and quinoa. In each region visited during the tour, you learn about local crops, the challenges faced by farmers and the initiatives being led by consumers to contribute to the development and conservation of local food and farming systems. Participants engage in open discussions with experts in each region and talk directly with farmers about their work.
The tour also includes visits to important archeological sites in the region, including Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Macchu Picchu in Peru and Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. All of these sites are linked to the region’s agricultural history, so including them in a program focused on Andean farming systems of yesterday and today makes perfect sense. Tour participants won’t visit these sites from the window of a bus; you enter them and La Paz on Foot’s guides help you to understand their purpose and how they have contributed to the development of some of the world’s great civilizations.
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The Central Andes has many lessons to share with the world and today farmers in the region are at the forefront of adaptation to a changing climate. As you will quickly learn, Andean farmers have adapted to changing environmental conditions for centuries and are doing so again as water regimes shift and temperatures rise. This tour will provide a unique opportunity for you to exchange your own experiences and ideas with others committed to clean and just food and farming systems - from producers to consumers and back again!