An ethnobotanical approach to the revitalisation of Andean foodways

I will investigate the idea that - by strengthening the mechanisms that favour the sustainability of
biocultural systems - processes of 'revitalisation' can improve resilience to socio-ecological challenges
such as climate change impacts, food insecurity, the loss of biodiversity and the deterioration of
traditional cultural knowledge. This will be substantiated by a case study of the so-called 'Peruvian food
revolution' which, through its revival of traditional foodways, is reported to be reshaping Andean
livelihoods and landscapes. The concept of revitalisation, originally proposed by Wallace (1956),
describes the process by which a contemporary society may be consciously transformed to meet social
and environmental challenges, through the reuptake and reshaping of traditional ideas and lifeways. This
process involves remembering and reimagining the past, and as such is as much a cultural process - with
implications for local identity - as an economic or ecological one.
Specifically, I will ask, to what extent is the shift by high-end chefs in Peru towards using traditional crops
and native wild plants strengthening the mechanisms that favour sustainability and resilience at the level
of local communities? In doing so, I will assess whether or not this culinary movement can be explained as
a revitalisation process, and what the merits or limits of framing it as such might be. Furthermore, I will
seek to refine the concept of revitalisation and distill its practical implications for sustainable
development projects. In aiming to meet the challenge of sustainable development - that is, achieving
the long-term attunement of society's development trajectory with the planet's environmental limits -
science and technology must focus on the dynamic interactions between environment and society.
Specifically, equal attention must be given to understanding how cultural change shapes the
environment and how environmental change shapes culture. Given its focus on interdependencies
between people and plants, I will take an ethnobotanical approach to answering these research
questions.
During a period of extended fieldwork, I will use participant observation, semi-structured interviews
(SSIs) and focus groups with farmers, foragers, chefs and restaurant clientele to gather both qualitative
and quantitative primary data regarding the biological and cultural facets of traditional crops and native
plants undergoing revitalisation in Peru. This will be enriched by and triangulated with secondary data,
gleaned through reviews of published and grey literature, and other datasets existing online and
elsewhere.
Throughout the duration of my research I will work proactively towards promoting sustainability,
conservation and collaboration. I am confident that - through collecting and preserving plant genetic
material; documenting ethnobotanical knowledge and exploring ways in which it can be shared,
maintained and revitalised; and by cultivating interdisciplinary and intercultural links - its impacts will
stretch beyond my time in the field.