Biological diversity and local development: "popping beans' in the central Andes

Biologically diverse popping beans have long been of significant use to Central Andean peasant agriculturalists. The present contribution of popping beans to peasant livelihoods could be expanded as part of development efforts aimed at regional food self-sufficiency. Popping beans offer agroecological, nutritional, and cultural resources to rural households. Prepared through parching, they significantly reduce the need for firewood and provide a useful food. Popping beans aid also in maintaining soil fertility and are imbued with symbolic import in the local cultures of peasants. Maintenance of biologically diverse popping beans depends on the socioeconomic conditions of peasant farming. Maintenance of the popping bean in subsistence cultivation is at risk of being undermined due to the labor required for their production and preparation. Contemporary social movements in the Central Andes are beginning to emphasize the multi-faceted usefulness of those biological resources. -from Author