The rainy season begins in September and the cultivation of quinoa begins. Quinoa is the only crop that can be grown along the shores of Uyuni Salt Lake. This photo shows a field in Estancia Jarma, east of Uyuni Salt Lake, where the soil has turned white due to salt precipitation. The brown plowed field in the upper center is where quinoa will be grown this season. The Uyuni Salt Lake can be seen in the background.

This is a field where we will be planting quinoa in Uyuni Salt Lake. The brownish area has been plowed, and you can see whitish material flowing in from the right side to the left side. This is sand carried by the wind. The area is subject to strong winds of up to 10 m/s on a daily basis. In the harsh environment of Uyuni, the recovery of vegetation is slow, and wind erosion progresses like this as soon as the land becomes bare. One of the major goals of this project is to reduce wind erosion damage by taking advantage of the local vegetation.

Around Uyuni Salt Lake, the fields are cut into rows and dozens of quinoa seeds are sown between the rows, 10-15 cm deep underground. Because of the severe drought in this area, it is necessary to sow deeply to avoid drought. It is surprising that quinoa seeds can germinate at such depths, since the largest seeds are only about 2 mm in diameter. However, unstable precipitation and sand burial often prevent germination, and this is the biggest problem that plagues farmers. Many farmers have to reseed their quinoa due to poor germination. Stabilization of germination is a very important issue for stable and high yields of quinoa.

This field was planted with quinoa last season, and there are still some quinoa stalks left after harvest. Quinoa belongs to the redbud family, and redbud stalks are very hard.  These hard stems are not easily broken down and are also very difficult for livestock to utilize. Effective utilization of these quinoa stems is one of the tasks of this project.

Along the shores of Uyuni Salt Lake, sand carried by wind erosion accumulates in large quantities on the rocky shores and forms sand dunes. You can see how severe the damage caused by wind erosion is.