2006.12.29: December 29, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Business: Quinoa: Agriculture: Import Export: Organic Food: State Journal-Register: Ecuador RPCV Bob faces problems importing organic quinoa

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ecuador: Peace Corps Ecuador : The Peace Corps in Ecuador: 2006.03.31: March 31, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Business: Quinoa: Criticism: Agriculture: Iport Exprrt: Organic Food: State Journal-Register: Ecuador RPCV Bob and Midge Leventry import organic quinoa : 2006.12.29: December 29, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Business: Quinoa: Agriculture: Import Export: Organic Food: State Journal-Register: Ecuador RPCV Bob faces problems importing organic quinoa

By Admin1 (admin) (ppp-70-245-26-66.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 70.245.26.66) on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 2:22 pm: Edit Post

Ecuador RPCV Bob faces problems importing organic quinoa

Ecuador RPCV Bob faces problems importing organic quinoa

The eruption of the Tungurahua volcano, severe frost, mudslides and then drought were major hurdles that cut the Leventry's Ecuadorian quinoa production from 500 metric tons in 2005 to 100 metric tons in 2006. "The eruption of Tungurahua was not a problem, but the ash was. We had 16 centimeters of ash on our lower fields. Wiped those out," Bob Leventry said. "People (in the United States) used to say to me, 'Quinoa, what's that?' Now most people we talk with have heard of quinoa. If nature is kind, we could be back to 500 metric tons and probably much more. Maybe 600 or 700 metric tons in 2007." After nearly a decade of building up markets in the United States and Great Britain, it was frustrating for the Leventrys to watch wholesale customers drop away because there was no quinoa to fill orders. But what bothered the Leventrys more than lost markets was watching indigenous farmers suffer greatly and shift to other subsistence crops.

Ecuador RPCV Bob faces problems importing organic quinoa

Postscripts*

Dec 29, 2006

State Journal-Register Springfield, IL

Welcome to the annual Postscripts issue, in which we catch up with people written about in The State Journal-Register during the last few years.

For this last Heartland magazine of 2006, we revisit a variety of people and places, from a former Peoria couple working for free trade in Ecuador, to a street musician and downtown Springfield fixture, to a young man struggling to get his life on a more successful track, to a boy learning to manage his autism among classmates.

[Excerpt]

Farming for change

Former Peorians Marjorie and Bob Leventry can measure social progress by the metric ton. It's been a sparse year.

After retiring from jobs in central Illinois and working with the Peace Corps in Ecuador for two years, the couple started Inca Organics in 1998 to provide markets for indigenous Ecuadorian farm co-ops growing organic quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Since their company was founded, quinoa has become increasingly recognized in the United States as a "super food." It's the only plant-based complete protein.

While recognition and markets grew in 2006, Ecuador suffered dramatic crop losses.

The eruption of the Tungurahua volcano, severe frost, mudslides and then drought were major hurdles that cut the Leventry's Ecuadorian quinoa production from 500 metric tons in 2005 to 100 metric tons in 2006.

"The eruption of Tungurahua was not a problem, but the ash was. We had 16 centimeters of ash on our lower fields. Wiped those out," Bob Leventry said.

"People (in the United States) used to say to me, 'Quinoa, what's that?' Now most people we talk with have heard of quinoa. If nature is kind, we could be back to 500 metric tons and probably much more. Maybe 600 or 700 metric tons in 2007."

After nearly a decade of building up markets in the United States and Great Britain, it was frustrating for the Leventrys to watch wholesale customers drop away because there was no quinoa to fill orders. But what bothered the Leventrys more than lost markets was watching indigenous farmers suffer greatly and shift to other subsistence crops.

To help, the couple pursued two major new business strategies. They entered a relationship with Ecologic Development Fund of Cambridge, Mass. The Leventrys have personally collateralized a $100,000 loan that will help their Ecuadorian farmers regain market share.

The couple now is working with Randimpak, a female cooperative headed by former Ecuadorian presidential candidate Maria Eugenia Lima. Randimpak is a nonprofit organization that focuses on helping women whose husbands have been forced to leave Ecuador to search for jobs.

"The husbands don't want to move to the United States. They want to follow the indigenous way of living off the land. If there were fair markets, the men could come back and make enough money to support families," Marjorie Leventry said. "Randimpak is empowering for these women."

Bob Leventry said the alliance between his company and Randimpak will help provide a stable supply of quinoa.

"This is a very positive development," he said. "We now have close to 10,000 farmers spread out over a larger area so freezes, droughts and volcanoes will not have as devastating an effect on our supplies."

For more information about Inca Organics or to contact the Leventrys, go to http://www.incaorganics.com.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: December, 2006; Peace Corps Ecuador; Directory of Ecuador RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Ecuador RPCVs; Business; Agriculture; Organic Food





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