11/10/2022
A closer look at one of the articles from Issue no 7: "Coca is not co***ne: A month in Alejo's kitchen" written by Andrea Pera Serrano, and accompanied by stunning photography by Daniela Fernandez. This piece is the second in a series of stories around coca, by the author. Please see The Preserve Journal’s Issue no 6 for the first.
Andrea sets the scene with this beginning:
"Years have passed since that meeting in Popayán. Many questions about what to do, many ideas and many disappointments have crossed my mind and stayed for long periods of time.
I worked for the government for a while, promoting public policies that strengthened their protection. But the process was so long and slow that I was soon demotivated to see issues come and go, on the whim of whichever politician was in power at the time.
I opted for a change, a change of life in general. I decided to study food mobility and cultures, and to immerse myself fully in the customs and culture of people in their daily lives, from a perspective of sustainability and ancestral traditions.
My beloved coca was obviously the subject of all my exams. I studied its ethnobotany, went to the Amazon to visit the indigenous communities that used it as a sacred plant, and came to know about its various processes and even about its chemical and nutritional compositions. I interviewed businessmen and academics who are experts on the subject. I spent a year learning about it.
When I graduated, I didn't know what to do about it. I did know one thing: I wanted people to know that coca is not co***ne."
Learn all about our newest issue via the link in our bio, from where you can also order Issue no 7, and read the full piece!
