BEHIND THE WALL

 MACHU PICCHU’S UNDISCOVERED TEA PLANTATION

“Even though it was an unusual discovery, the team definitely made the most of it. Fernando actually used some of the tea for the excavation workers’ breakfast. They were around two-hundred, and needed something to drink after all that time working under the sun.” 

However, Fernando was caught by surprise even more when he came back to the same area following the rain season, during which excavations were not allowed. When returned, the area of la gran caverna and its terraces (picture below on the right) had entirely been cultivated with plants like corn and coffee. This is an intrinsically Andean way of cultivating food, which made Fernando suspect that the were families who lived on the park’s grounds and who were still growing their own food, even if not native to the park’s natural landscape.

“There was this one family who, during excavation time, was very happy to notice that some unknown people were ‘regularly cleaning their terraces’. Not for one second did they think it was wrong to cultivate on archaeological Inca terraces! It was their way of doing agriculture and would not easily see the difference between what was theirs and what was the Incas’.”

Now, this became quite a difficult task for Fernando, as he could not convince local inhabitants that they could not implement this specific way of growing crops. The paradox was: Machu Picchu is a national monument and should not be violated, while at the same time local people have every right to cultivate their own land.

How are endemic species of the forest protected in Machu Picchu, then? Generally, locals have the right to run their own farms, however, they have to do so in a way that corresponds to the traditional Inca technique of doing agriculture. These people were doing exactly that, but, unfortunately, majority of the plants still had to be eradicated. This is because they interfered with the excavation, which was going to benefit the archaeological park as whole, deemed as more important heritage to the community.

“This is what happens when material heritage meets with immaterial heritage. As an anthropologist, Fernando would not have removed those plants, but as an archaeologist, he had to intervene, for the sake of the excavation itself.”

The fight to eradicate non-endemic species in the Machu Picchu forest and the Cusco region still goes on, with the hope of seeing a more sustainable and healthy natural surrounding in the future.

HEINZ PLENGE’S PHOTOGRAPHY IN MACHU PICCHU

AND THE CHAPARRI ECOLOGICAL RESERVE

The unique bond between humans and wildlife in Peru

Image taken by Heinz Plenge

Plenge continuously collaborates with indigenous communities of Peruvian heritage. He was responsible for the creation of the first Peruvian private conservation area of 34,000 hectares, while also inaugurating the first ever project for sustainable tourism in Peru almost twenty years ago.  As of today, there are around 120 conservation areas in the country, with Plenge as a leader of the conservation of natural and cultural heritage movement.

“I was born in Peru and I feel that, both intangible and tangible, natural and cultural heritage cannot be separated from one another. I feel them as one. To me the profession of photographer can certainly transmit not only knowledge, but also emotions. This can be extremely useful in the safeguard of national patrimony, especially in a country like Peru. There is so much to admire and photograph here that three consecutive lives would not be enough to see it all. Many professional photographers sometimes see their job as a shop. I had the opportunity to publish my work in the most recognized media worldwide, and I also know that pictures do have an economic value, but I think every photograph is a historical document, which needs to be preserved.”

Central to the professional ethic of Heinz is his work at the Chaparri Ecological Reserve, a natural reserve with which he collaborates for the preservation of various endemic animals and plants. Plenge holds, in fact, the record of having produced the highest amount of wildlife pictures in Peru, with the peculiarity that he is able to get extremely close to a lot of different feral species. He even managed to photograph a jaguar at less than six meters away without any protection, which represents a unique and extremely rare achievement for a professional like him. 

Adine said of his photography:

“There is a very special way animals look at Heinz. That is why he is so different from all other nature photographers I have met. The creatures look at the camera feeling the presence of the photographer, with their eyes looking at him vividly and profoundly. All sorts of animals do that with him.”

When asked about how he manages to produce such genuine shots, Heinz claimed that they are a combination of coincidental events and preparation. He started to photograph animals very early, at only 20 years old, when he attempted to take pictures of condors, with his first analogical camera, on a beach next to where he lived.

“The condor is a very shy animal and, in order to get close to one, I would have to lay down next to the corpse of a sea lion, faking to be dead, and having to stay still for hours hoping that it would approach me. Some of the best pictures I have ever taken just happened, without the need for planning in advance. However, when I go to a specific place, I go with an idea of what I can photograph and how. Biodiversity is so extended in Chaparri and in Peru more generally, that I often end up photographing more than I expected, or sometimes something even more interesting than what I had planned.”

Image taken by Heinz Plenge

The true secret behind Plenge’s shots, however, is his respect towards nature and animals. Creating a place of mutual respect and coexistence between nature and humans is at the base of sustainable tourism, and it is exactly the lesson that Chaparri gives to the rest of the world. Thirty years ago, the area on which the park is today was almost deserted, with little to no vegetation and a very small amount of fauna. Thanks to a project of habitat reconstitution, in which Plenge took part, the reserve is now the home of an uncountable number of diverse species, hosting the highest concentration of South American Bears in their distribution range. Among those, one became especially famous for often attempting to escape from the reserve: her name is Lola, and is the favorite subject of Heinz at the park.

Image taken by Heinz Plenge

What happened in Chaparri, in the Lambayeque region of Peru, is an incredible example of how the determination of the local population has not only helped nature regrow and regenerate, but also caused their community to benefit and grow from nature itself, for example thanks to the sudden re-appearance of medicinal plants in the forest.

THE LEGACY OF INCA

LANDSCAPE PLANNING

Therefore, the Incas would have never removed the other species of trees of the forest which are visible in the upper part of the frame. If one was to destroy all the trees there, in fact, all animals would disappear from the area, including big predators, while interrupting the food chain. It is no wonder that, due to recent deforestation and construction activities, condors do not appear in the Cusco valley anymore.

Nowadays, through a very slow process, we have deforested majority of the area for both construction and agricultural purposes, causing an ecological clash. The Incas, however, were able to combine the use of both the biosphere and construction, through an incredibly elaborated process called agroforestry. The Inca population knew, in fact, that separating environments would alter the ability of nature to regenerate itself. The combination of both forest trees and fields, instead of separation, was also useful to create shadow.

Agroforestry is just one of the many examples of sustainable agriculture and construction by the Incas, whose legacy teaches us that nature must be respected and shows us that tourism in Machu Picchu is not only about visiting an archeological park, but having an overall unique and sustainable experience.

VALUABLE LESSONS FROM THE FOREST OF

MACHU PICCHU

Therefore, when one decides to cut one of these trees, they are potentially cutting 40km of nutritional balance for the forest. Can you just believe it?

The sad truth however, is that today, with the advanced technologies that we have developed, the destruction of these trees, along with millions of other living species, is continuously happening, disrupting the balance of life in the site, and on Earth. Instead of evolving forward, we as humans are moving backwards. This is why Machu Picchu is so important as a Heritage Site. It conveys the message that there is a different approach to this, a way of treating the forest with intelligent and positive outcomes.

“I don’t believe in people doing marches on the street, saying ‘Save the Chiwawako’, because nobody knows it. This is why it is important to create awareness.” (Adine)

Machu Picchu still teaches us today, in the 21st century, to pay respect to the intelligence of life and its ability to create a network of that combine species in a way that is healthy for everyone. We are currently living in a time when humans have pretty much depleted our planet’s resources, as we always considered them as an endless stream of something that has no intelligence or goal of its own. However, the truth is, it was never there for us. Nature has its own order and, by not paying attention to the cycle of life of these natural resources, we run a very big risk today.

SOCIETY AND ITS RULES

IN THE ANDEAN WORLD

Nevertheless, let us imagine this scenario. If someone was to kill another person, what motivates them to take care of the children of the deceased? It is commonly said that the community usually forces the person. Therefore, they do not have a choice or say in the matter. The collective opinion of society is, as mentioned earlier, that if one commits a crime, they have to re-establish order themselves. By not following through with their duties, people who have done wrong could be accused of another – moderate – crime.

“If I eliminate the generator of wealth for somebody, then I become responsible for their children, their heritage. If I kill someone who has a piece of land, then I have to work and use that piece of land, but the result of that piece of land is not mine, it belongs to the land owner that was killed, so I become literally a prisoner of the work or person that I eliminated.”

An interesting fact is that killing another human being is actually very rare in the Andean world because the notion of life is sacred to their culture. It is just not smart to kill somebody. Not only because one needs to work double the amount, but also because in the Andean world there are not many people. There is much more space than people who inhabit it. Moreover, from a societal point of view, people who killed others are viewed as if they did something that only God can do. It is considered too arrogant of an act.

To give this some more context, Adine Gavazzi explained:

“According to the Andean people, they think of it as: how can you possibly do something that only a higher being can do? Now you have the responsibility of taking care of what the person left, so why put that burden on yourself?”

Sixty-five to seventy-five percent of the population in Peru is made by indigenous communities, both rural or forestal, whose mentality is still the same and is not in the process of changing. In fact, it is known that, for these reasons, the Inca did not use to kill their prisoners, but displaced them in other areas in order for them to create new communities. The idea of having an enemy is considered unwise. Andeans would never kill their enemies, but rather use them to do something useful instead.

Overall, the concept of committing a crime is perfectly expressed in this very simple saying by Andean people:

“You make a mistake and you throw a stone in the river and the water doesn’t flow well anymore. So then you have to make the effort to remove the stone that you have thrown in the river. So that the water flows again smoothly.”

Fernando Astete is a Peruvian anthropologist, who dedicated more than thirty years of his life to the investigation, conservation, and protection of Machu Picchu, and who recently shared with us what the sanctuary means to him through some exclusive pictures he took during the years at the site. This project therefore aims to bring light to the unique stories behind his invaluable pictures and the significant events that have affected the site through the various years of Astete’s work.

According to Fernando, visiting Machu Picchu is in itself an experience one must have in order to understand the beauty and meaning that it holds. The first time he set foot in Machu Picchu, he was only a young boy scout, on a school excursion with a group of other students. His first experience was in fact memorable for both him and his friends, who were warned to stay alert of deadly snakes and insects as they packed up their tents and prepared for the adventure.

After reaching the site and setting up their tents, the kids were forced to run to the river in order to get wet and avoid mosquito bites. Astete recalls them as “children of the mountain”, who were not used to the environment of the sanctuary, but for him that experience was beautiful. He not only got to do something new with a group of friends, but also got to see all the monuments in the Llaqta, which were barely visible at the time, and managed to go all the way up to the Intihuatana, the astronomic clock of the Inca, whose literal meaning is “sun clock”.

Fernando’s second visit to Machu Picchu, was during his high school years, when his group of friends was very sportive. In fact, as they were climbing up and down mountains, he recalls getting the most beautiful view of the sanctuary, right by the Intipunku, which in Quechua means “sun door”. Years later, after his studies in 1961, his university professor Manuel Chavez Ballon would call him to take charge of the citadel for a season. He accepted the offer and even decided to stay, and rest, as you say, was history.

After a few years of service, Fernando had developed his own personal relationship with the mountains. He was able to see things that a simple tourist in Machu Picchu perhaps could not, and he had the opportunity to live by the door of the sanctuary, which meant that, after the tourists would leave, the citadel would become a place solely for him. “It was a very nice location, positioned on the back of the Tres Portadas sector, made of small buildings and a large carved rock. It was a place that led to meditation and rest. It made you think, when you were there, you would have a spectacular view of the river from the Llaqta”, he recalls.

Photo – Adine Gavazzi

The various observation points are a fundamental feature of Machu Picchu. Where you are, what you see, what your horizon is, how many people can be with you and why you are there, are all vital questions, which need to be answered, in order to understand what perspective of the site one is experiencing. There are paths that everyone can take, while there are others that nobody is able to notice at first. When you take those rustic paths, you become invisible, and that allows you to develop your own individual relationship with the mountains and skyline in a very special and unique way.

The exceptionality of Machu Picchu does not only result from the place itself, but also from its people. Fernando describes Andean people as a communal cooperative union. Everyone knows and cares for each other’s well-being, for example by sharing food between neighbors and aiding with construction work. Acts of friendship and gatherings are also common. In fact, they are so common that when a couple is getting married, their neighbors and families will usually help to build a house for them.

To Astete, the sense of community that he observed made him wonder how Macchu Picchu was built. He knows that, during the Inca times, there was a reciprocity in working, as the state was responsible to provide people with basic needs even during scarcity of resources, while they would pay back with labor. “When people were not hungry, they were always capable of thinking”, he claims.

“For us it is the maximum expression of Andean architecture, it is the symbiosis between human work and nature, how to work without affecting the environment.”

The Inca collaboration mechanism involved horizontal and vertical cooperation among the people and followed a single shared goal. Many centuries later, the common will of the Andean people still remains and lives in Machu Picchu. In a certain way, everyone who is currently involved in the preservation of the site, still uses their means and capabilities to collaborate with others in the process.

Another Inca legacy to the site would be the very special relationship they had with the sun. Their technique was making sure the mountains would receive sunlight, instead of the bottom of the valley, as they believed light could give them energy, purify them and make them able to do greater things. Sunlight was essentially what made them better people.

In 2013, the Mexican Orchid Society named a new species of the flower in honor of Fernando, Epidendrum Astetei, in recognition of his work for the site and for Peru as a whole. Although he may be retired now, Fernando is still recognized as the older brother of the site.

“It wasn’t just a tribute to me, it was in the name of all of us who worked. I would not have had any recognition if it had not been for the effort of all the people involved, from the humblest worker to the more advanced one. Everyone supported the conservation work, because we decided to study Machu Picchu to contribute to the scientific knowledge of what it represents to Peruvians.”