Quinoa, the new “super food,” is a grain packed with nutritious protein and fiber.
Not only has the quinoa popularity surge given us a delicious new food, it has also benefitted family farmers in rural Bolivia.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assisted Bolivian quinoa (pronounced, keen-awa) farmers in upgrading their processing machinery so they could increase their capacity by six fold. As the farmers made more money, their kids could go to school — a win-win success story.
The modern equipment also reduced energy consumption at the same time. USAID says the cleaner technologies cut electricity use by one-fifth, and water and natural gas by a third.
Photo by the FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization in Latin America (CC license)