Resumen

PEREZ, Valentín. Socioeconomic and cultural situation of the Qañawa Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen in the communities of the municipality of San Andrés de Machaca, La Paz. CienciAgro [online]. 2019, vol.9, n.1, pp. 1-9. ISSN 2072-1404.

ABSTRACT The qañawa (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) together with the quinoa and the potato are basic foods ofthe population, in the last quarter century it has been relegated to a second place, due to the adaptation of other crops, besides the in-troduction in the diet of other foods, changing the eating habits of young people. In the region there is a loss of genetic diversity, as well as its traditional uses, these elements are showing a not very encouraging future, due to policies of exploitation of crops that seek a greater economic benefit. In this work, we identified and rescued local knowledge about the management and conservation of the qañawa, describe the socio-economic and cultural situation, the local knowle-dge they practice, ecotypes of the region that are being cultivated were listed, the forms of consumption of the grain were identified and the eating habits are described revaluing the forms of use, preparation and traditional consumption. Interviews were conducted with two age groups (youth and adults). The results show that 98% of those consulted know the benefits of the qañawa, they cultivate between 1 and 2 ecotypes, the plots vary between 1.000 to 5.000 m², the natural phenomena that most affect are the frost and hail, over 30 years old are still practicing the use of bioindicators, 8 ecotypes of qañawa have been registered, the form of consumption is in flour (pito), drinks and phiri, the diet of the population has changed with the introduction of rice, noodles and chicken meat. The young people say that it is difficult to carry out the cultivation due to the presence of adverse natural phenomena and the transformation of the grain. The-re is a need to have public policies that favor the recovery of crop management practices, processing and government purchases prioritizing complementary school feeding.

Palabras llave : qañawa,; ecotype; bioindicators; eating habits; local knowledge.