Ag Teacher Abroad

Ag Teacher Abroad Peruvian Agriculture vs American Agriculture

Agriculture is a broad field.

Green Mile. Picture above is a soybean field in early June. The field is located in Northeast Iowa. This field is of similar size to many other fields in this area; 150 acres. Photo Credit: Strong Photos

The world is a big place.

Everyone does things differently.

The same but different. These pumpkins were carved in the fall of 2015 following my arrival back to the United States after traveling abroad. It was a fun, light activity after some crazy travel. Photo Credit: Some Kerr

From rural Northeast Iowa to urban Lima, Peru

Raccoon Hunting

Fall Harvest 2015; Geraldine's Place

Feeding a calf on 1 hour of sleep.

Peruvian 'grocery store'

Peruvian "ice cream shop" outside the school.

From the United States to Peru.

Three Traits. Peru is located on the left size of South America. It has three portions which can be seen in the photo; a coastline, the Andes mountains, and the Amazon jungle. Photo Credit: WikiImages

In the fall of 2015, I went on an adventure to Lima, Peru to student teach for middle school science. Lima is the capital of Peru and is located along the coastline of the Pacific ocean. Below is a photo of Lima in the winter.

Cold. Gray. Windy. The coastline of Chorillos, the coastal suburb of Lima. The road pictured is the nicest condition road in the city due to high tourism traffic.

Throughout my stay I ventured to two of the three portions of Peru; the coast/desert and the Andes mountains. Agriculture was always in the back of my mind.

This is the desert portion of Peru. The landscape is literally all sand and small rocks. There were little to no crops grown here. Irrigation was in place but seldom. The population was limited and based near water sources.

With my trip timeline, lack of vaccinations, and teaching schedule I did not get a change to travel into the Amazon. A few of my friends did. Pictured are photos they took. The agriculture here is mostly sustenance based and revolves around fruit, lumber, and the Amazon rainforest.

Machu Picchu is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is located at the base of the Andes mountains, one of the three main geographically areas of Peru. While many people travel thousands of miles to see the old Incan ruins, I was more interested in the irrigation and ag-related products produced in the Andes mountains.

Potatoes, Potatoes. Peru is well-known for potato production in the highlands the Andes mountains. Here a local is displaying only a portion of the different varieties of potatoes and fruits/veggies grown in Peru.

Located lower in elevation were many other old Incan ruins. Many traditional Peruvians still reside in the area. These places and people are pictured below. Textiles, minerals (salt mine) and terrace crop production are major agriculture productions in the highlands. Our idea for terracing came from the Incans and their research.

Textiles contain patterns that represent the area where they were created. Here, an ocean wave represents a family who moved from the coast to the highlands.

Plants and minerals are used to dye fabrics for textiles.

The dye is extracted from plants and fruits.

Salt mining is a major industry in the highlands of Peru. Here you can see the water running out of the mountain. It is irrigated thousands of directions to fill different slots.

Over time, the sun naturally evaporates the water off the salt solution. This leaves large pieces of salt which works scoop up with shovels.

Here you can see all the different salt slots in salt mine.

This is a traditional Incan "research farm" where Incans experimented with different hybrids at different elevations.

Incan terraces.

Llamas and sheep often graze the rare plains in the highlands.

Agriculture education does not exist in Peru. I was located in a wealthier private school in a high-economic status community of the capital of Peru. There was no agriculture education. There was basic biology and chemistry. Post-high school (age 16) there are major universities in Peru that offer Agriculture Education but you must invest substantial money to attend the college. The general public has little agriculture-based education.

The top portion of pictures are from the science education I taught and observed while student teaching. The bottom portion of pictures are from a single trip to Indianapolis, IN for National FFA Convention. The difference in agriculture-based education is noticeable.

With a drastic difference in geography, culture, and education Peru and the United States vary in their views and opinions of agriculture.

Currently, the internet and social media are two venues in which people can spread awareness about production agriculture across the world, not just within a school or small geographically area such as Northeast Iowa.

It is essential to be informed consumers and advocate for production agriculture in a positive , factual way.

What will you spread? How will you share your knowledge about your experiences in agriculture?

Example of an Edited Photo Side-by-Side

How will you impact people outside your immediate life?

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by jhfearless - "P1050864" • skeeze - "world earth planet" • WikiImages - "south america continent land" • kud4ipad - "3Angle - Sea, Land, Sky" • Ivan Mlinaric - "Woman selling fruit in Market" • LoboStudioHamburg - "twitter facebook together"

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Ag Teacher Abroad Peruvian Agriculture vs American Agriculture

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