market street in La Paz

One of the streets above the Iglesia San Francisco filled with market vendors...

teapot in the metal market

In the immense market district of La Paz, in the neighborhoods above the Plaza San Francisco, one can find just about anything you look for. Products are organized by location so one will find a street of beauty products and then a street of soaps and cleaning products. There is also a section of meat divided up by pork, beef and chicken as well as sections with fruits, vegetables, seeds, certified seeds, electrical products, lightbulbs.... everything.

One of the prettiest sections is the section of the metal workers who make pots and pans out of aluminum. Here is a photo of a teapot in that section of the market... a pseudo self portrait.

First day of spring, La Paz, Bolivia

On the first day of spring in Bolivia, Sep. 21, representatives of schools from all over the country come to the capital, La Paz, for a parade. They march through the city with their bands and traditional clothing and dance.

Helper Friend

At the breakfast window a little bird comes and pecks at the window waiting for bread crumbs. It is a Rufous Collarded Sparrow and is very tame. It is also very impatient when there are no crumbs and will continually tap the glass until some food is provided. We have named this bird "Helper Friend." Helper friend because if the windows are left open, the bird will come into the house and clean up the crumbs on the floor, thus helping us keep the house clean....

Vials of Quinoa

September 9th, 2005
El Alto, Bolivia
Certified Seed Expo


The Bolivian Andean Univerity’s Department of Agronomy has taken on the responsibility of preserving the genetic stock of the Quinoa plant. It has a collection of over 2500 classes of Quinoa seeds from throughout the Andres. In some of its work, the University has bred new hybrid varieties of Quinoa that have improved characteristics included adaptability to a variety of climates, increased production and increased resistance to disease.
This photo displays some of the examples of the genetic stock of Quinoa seed.

Certified Seeds

Papas de Viscachani

September 9. 2005

El Alto, Bolivia
Certified Seed Expo

The Certified Seed Expo in El Alto, Bolivia gave seed producers a chance to show their products to agriculturalists and to demonstrate some of the benefits of using certified seed. Use of certified seed is a practice that would be contrary to farmers setting aside some of their own production to be used during the next year as seed or from buying seeds from local farmers which may not have all of the beneficial characteristics of certified seed.

A disadvantage of using the certified seed may be that it is not as adapted to the specific micro-climate where it may be cultivated as local varieties would be. In the Andes, this is very important as there are thousands of different microclimates due to different altitudes, aspects and climatic influences.