In Peru, Indigenous women work to save the ancestral magona potato.

Since 2023, a group led by agronomy engineer Gabriela Loaiza Seri in San José de Koribeni, Cusco, has worked to recover 11 varieties of the magona potato and 17 varieties of traditional yuca, while producing flours and snacks under the Kipatsi brand.

A women-led project in San José de Koribeni, a Machiguenga community in Cusco, Peru, is working to recover traditional tubers that local families once relied on. The group began with a semillera and eight women and has grown into an association that now includes 14 participants and a small processing plant. The initiative responds to pressure from expanding monocultures, new crop varieties and youth migration. It combines ancestral planting knowledge with modest processing to make flours and snacks sold under the Kipatsi name. What is known: - Since 2023, Gabriela Loaiza Seri and a team of 14 women have worked to rescue 11 varieties of magona potato (also called sachapapa) and 17 traditional yuca varieties, according to the reporting. - The magona is a vine-like tuber that can produce roots of varying shapes and colors (white, cream, yellow or purple), with individual tubers typically weighing 100–400 grams and a growth cycle of about 8–10 months. - The chacra practices described avoid agrochemicals and machinery; planting follows inherited techniques and uses small seed plots, mulch and manual stake support for the vines. - The group processes tubers into flours and snacks in a small plant (currently based in Loaiza Seri’s home) and uses a solar dehydrator for flour production; the products are sold under the Kipatsi brand. - Gabriela Loaiza Seri received grants from Conservation International Peru in 2021 and 2023 that provided financing, mentorship and support for the rescue and processing work. - Reported production figures note that one hectare can yield up to 5,000 kilograms, with part of the harvest kept for family consumption and part set aside for sale. Summary: The project aims to revive local crop diversity and maintain food traditions while creating income through small-scale processing. The group is working to consolidate the Kipatsi brand and strengthen an Indigenous, women-led local economy as part of its ongoing efforts.