For it is holiday, Maria does not have to go to school and stays at home. She helps her family with the daily duties. First she is going to feed all the animals: they have some chicken and also sheep. Since they don't have a stable the animals stay outside in the garden. In the terraced fields there are also alpacas. The family has to be watchful to not lose them.
While Maria is doing her job, her mom is cleaning the house. They do not have water in the house in every room. So her mom has to take it from the water tank. Water is precious. Even though surrounded by a huge lake, they have to be careful with the use of water. Later she is knitting some hats which can be sold to the foreign guests they expect later.
Her dad is also working. The family has some little terrace fields. He has to go there almost every day by foot because on the island there are no cars, and the roads are narrow and sometimes very steep. On their terraces they plant some potatoes, maize, quinoa, oca, isañu, tarwi, and cañihua. Not every terrace is cultivated every year. There is a system of two or three years cropping followed by two to twelve years of fallow. This allows the soil to recover. Sometimes growing of crops is combined with grazing. The harvest is once a year. Only next to the sea it is possible to harvest twice a year.
Terraced farmlands are an ancient tradition in the Andean culture. The hillslopes are full of them. They serve for soil deepening because the natural soils tend to be shallow and full of stones, erosion control, microclimatic control, and moisture control.
Another important form of collaboration between the families on the island is the Ayni or Minka. This means that the families help each other with farming, building houses, or repairing houses. Each member of the community (the Ayllu) helps without asking for money. The supported families just have to provide a meal during the working days.
In the course of the day some foreign visitors arrive by boat. Maria's dad has to pick them up at the harbour and to bring them to their house. They are sleeping for one night in guestrooms. The tourists are interested in the life of the residents of the island. Later on, Señor Tedosio will tell you more about how tourism on the island is organized.
In the meantime Maria and her mom are preparing the meal for their guests. First they are cooking a quinoa soup followed by some fried eggs with rice, potatoes, and oca.
In the afternoon the residents lead their guests to a little place. Some residents demonstrate how they are creating some typical products from the island. Julian is a stonemason. He produces some smaller and larger art work, but also objects which are used in everyday life. Some of the art work Julian brings to the mainland for selling it to visitors there.
Julian also made a mill out of stone. One woman from the community shows the guests how to make flour with this self-made mill. As the people cultivate various crops on the island, they can produce different flour for cooking. In this case, the woman uses quinoa.
But also weaving has a lot of tradition. The women are using alpaca wool which they spin by themselves. Each colour and pattern has its own meaning. The textiles are used as rag or also to produce cloths or tablecloths. But not only weaving is very important, also knitting. Marias mom makes every day in her spare time some caps and headbands which they are selling to their guests.
In the evening they lead their guests up to the hilltops of Pachatata (father earth) and Pachamama (mother earth). Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes. She is also known as the earth/time mother. In Inca mythology, Pachamama is a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting, embodies the mountains, and causes earthquakes. She is also an ever-present and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life on this earth. Pachatata, in contrast, is the father earth. He has the same meaning like Pachamama but it is the male form of it.
From the Pachamama hilltop, islanders and guests are watching the sunset together. Later they walk down to the village. Now the guests can decide if they want to join a little traditional party or just want to go home. The party is with traditional music and the guests can wear traditional cloths and learn some dances.
