Going through some of my trip photos, I came across these…

Do you know that we have the Incas to thank for the marvelous quinoa grain? (My daughter tells me it’s the perfect food—excellent source of protein and carbohydrate!) This remarkable people group experimented with various grains at extreme altitudes to find out which ones would flourish under such conditions.

I spent a number of weeks traveling throughout the Sacred Valley in Peru and came upon an ancient site where they practiced such agrarian explorations. The photo of the descending concentric circles shows controlled growing areas where the temperature drops by 2 degrees Celsius per circle. The Incas discovered that quinoa flourished under these rugged conditions.

In my hand are the quinoa seeds—the fruit of their labour. So the next time you enjoy quinoa for breakfast or with your fancy entrée at an upscale restaurant, remember who did all of the work to satisfy your palate.

Thank you Incan friends for your inquisitive minds and spirit. Also, thank you to our Quechua brothers and sisters who maintain the Incan bloodline, language and connectedness with the earth into our present day. Our Earth would be greatly diminished without your presence!