Luke and Simon are living and working in the Chincha province. Chincha is about three hours south of Lima in the department of Ica. It is located in the valley created as the foothills of the Andes begin to descend into the Pacific Ocean. It is known for its agriculture, especially its vineyards and wineries, and as the heart of Afro-Peruvian culture in Perú. Simon is living in the town of El Carmen and working at the Centro Cultural Amador Ballumbrosio, an organization working to promote Afro-Andean music and the cultural life of El Carmen. Luke is working on a small farm run by the Chuquihuamani family in rural Chincha.
Simon relaxes under the gazebo of maracuyá and granadilla vines. Simon and host mom Sylvie Rouvreau Ballumbrosio stand in their garden.Sylvie shows us the extensive library for the new cultural center.Simon helps catalogue all the donated CDs for the center.The cultural center promotes Afro-Andino music but it will also offer many educational opportunities for the residents of El Carmen. Simon engages in his favorite pastime–eating maracuyá straight from his garden.Luke begins his day cutting large swaths of alfafa, shown here, to feed to the animals.Luke cradles one of the many cuy housed at the farm.Turkeys parade inside their cage at the Chuquihuamani farm.A large part of the 10-hectare Chuquihuamani farm is used for growing wine grapes, a staple product of the region.Luke, Agripino and Walter proudly show off their sombreros to combat the intense Chincha sun.Luke displays some of the Hass avocados that he helps cultivate.To keep the young avocados protected from the heat, Luke wraps them in paper.Scott enjoys tuna, or prickly pear, which is the fruit of the farm’s cactus plants.One of the many types of fruit grown on the farm is higo, or fig.It’s time for maracuyás!Lukes poses with his father Agripino, mother Jacinta and brother Walter.We enjoy our feast of Picante de Cuy and maracuyá juice prepared for us by Luke’s host mom, Jacinta, and Willy’s partner Candelaria, seated to his right. Candelaria is a cousin to Luke’s dad, Agripino. The Chuquihuamani family is originally from Vito, Willy and Candelaria’s home town. Our group enjoys a mid-afternoon snack at El Batan in the city of Chincha.
