Indigenous Innovation Center for Andean Q'ochas
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Introduction
Q’ochas are an ancestral Indigenous water harvest technology that serve as a multifaceted drought solution. With the community of Pukachupa, Pucará, we hope to create a consulting firm for Indigenous Quechua planners that will mitigate effects of climate change in the Andes and beyond. Over the past three millennia, amidst the high altitude (3800m), semi-arid, and extreme weather of the Lake Titicaca Basin, the technology of Q’ochas was developed. Q’ochas are artificial depressions in the ground, ranging from tens to hundreds of meters, resembling ponds and lakes, that are interconnected through man-made canals. Together, these rain-fed and spring-fed Q’ochas create a complex and interconnected water system that carries water throughout the region via slightly inclined dug-out canals. During the rainy season (January–March) they collect water and provide a constant supply of water to this arid region for the remainder of the year. Q’ochas mitigate risks of drought both by 1) making water available for household use and for agriculture, and 2) offering highly productive areas to grow crops, 3) increasing ground-moisture to prevent crop-freeze. Long-term benefits of Q’ochas include biodiversity, groundwater recharge, and natural fertilizer production in the soil lining the base of Q’ochas.
Problem
The colonial conquest of the region of Puno outlawed the use of Q’ochas because of their sacred place in Andean cosmology, and today many are ruined or abandoned. While many grandparents remember building Q’ochas, today it is becoming more and more distant knowledge. My family told me the most devastating droughts have happened over the past few years and killed crops, livestock, and entire livelihoods. Water scarcity and conflicts around water allocation are increasing along with glacial retreat. Q’ochas have served Andean livelihoods for over three millennia and their multifaceted drought mitigation knowledge is becoming more distant every year; they are an extremely sustainable and under-studied solution to drought which are increasingly at risk of being lost.
Opportunity
Through increased understanding of past and present design such as creating first 3D LiDar models of Q’ochas, I hope to facilitate transnational connections between the Andes and MIT. During this exchange, Indigenous data sovereignty and reciprocal relationships will be at the forefront. We are partnered with Pro-DIA they have extensive community advocacy and environmental justice work in the context of Pucará. Through this work we hope to establish long-lasting connection between the Andes and higher-level institution that affirms the multi-faceted drougth solution of this technology. Furthermore, our goal is to create a consulting firm that will help other regions develop Q'ochas through the Indigenous Innovation Center for Andean Q'ochas . This will support local inhabitants as well as enable revitilzation and upholding of our ancestral Indigenous technologies.