The quiet, isolated village of Huilloc is tucked down a remote corner of Peru's Sacred Valley in the Andean highlands. The Lost City of Machu Picchu is not too far away. Life for the 200 families who live in Huilloc is very traditional. Ollantaytambo, a town that's 15 kilometres down the road, is the furthest many of them have ventured.
Guinea pigs, kept as livestock, roam freely across earthen floors inside their adobe homes. And the everyday clothing worn by the men and womenfolk look like festival costumes. Most are handmade.
An elderly man leads me outside to show me how they work in the fields, sowing the soil manually using hand ploughs.
Five hundred years after Spanish colonialists introduced bullocks to South America, nothing much has changed here. It's afternoon teatime when I arrive to find a group of women enjoying a break, sipping chicha (fermented corn beer) while snacking on boiled potatoes - Peru's gift to the world.
1567
The year potatoes first arrived in Europe from Peru via the Canary Islands
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The Echidna
Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more.
