What is a cocalero activist?
Cocaleros are the coca leaf growers of Peru and Bolivia. In response to U.S.-funded attempts to eradicate and fumigate coca crops in the Chapare region of Bolivia, cocaleros joined with other grassroots indigenous organizations in the country, such as unionized mine workers and peasants to contest the government.
What is Cocalero made from?
Cocalero is a herbal spirit made with the South American coca leaf and 16 other botanicals including guarana, juniper and ginseng.
What is coca leaves used for?
People chew coca leaves to relieve hunger and fatigue and to enhance physical performance. Coca extracts are used for stimulating stomach function, causing sedation, and treating asthma, colds, and other ailments. Coca tea is used for altitude sickness in the Peruvian Andes and elsewhere.
What is Bolivia’s official policy for growing coca?
Bolivian President Evo Morales has signed into law a controversial bill that nearly doubles the area that can be legally planted with coca crops. A total of 22,000 hectares (55,000 acres) can be planted with coca nationwide, compared with 12,000 hectares under previous legislation.
Is Cocalero legal in the US?
Don’t worry, there is certainly nothing illegal about this drink. Manufacturing Cocalero requires a special “steam distillation” process, the same that is used to extract oils from plants, in order to remove the narcotics from the coca leaf.
Where is Cocalero made?
Cocalero is every bit as green and scary looking as Agwa, but it’s definitely a different animal. For starters, it’s made in Dublin, Ireland.
Where is coca cultivation legal?
Bolivia
The cultivation, sale, and possession of unprocessed coca leaf (but not of any processed form of cocaine) is generally legal in the countries – such as Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentine Northwest – where traditional use is established, although cultivation is often restricted in an attempt to control the production …
What does Bolivia produce?
Since 2001, Bolivia’s leading legal agricultural export has been soybeans. Additionally, cotton, coffee, and sugarcane have been viable exports for Bolivia. For domestic consumption, corn, wheat, and potatoes are the crops of choice of Bolivian farmers.
What kind of crops are grown in Yunga?
Despite the harsh weather, crops such as quinoa, maca, qañiwa, broad beans and ulluku are cultivated here. The flora (subtropical cloud forest) of the Yunga region is mainly composed by the Peruvian pepper tree, the Furcraea, white cabuya (Furcraea andina), the pitahaya and the Peruvian torch cactus ( Echinopsis peruviana ).
Where are the Yungas in South America located?
The Southern Andean Yungas begins in southern Bolivia and continues to the north of Argentina. It is a humid forest region between the drier Gran Chaco region to the east and the dry, high altitude Puna region to the west. Yungas are transitional zones between the Andean highlands and the eastern forests.
What’s the difference between Yunga and Fluvial Yunga in Peru?
Peruvian Yungas. In Peru there is a difference between Yunga and Yungas. Yunga is considered a natural region on both sides of the Peruvian Andes, the western side towards the coast is called Sea Yunga, and the eastern side into the jungle is called Fluvial Yunga, both reach a height of 2,300 m.
What kind of forest is the yunga forest?
The yungas forests are extremely diverse, ranging from moist lowland forest to evergreen montane forest and cloud forests. The terrain is extremely rugged and varied, contributing to the ecological diversity and richness. A complex mosaic of habitats occur with changing latitude as well as elevation.