Waru Waru

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Waru Waru" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Waru Waru is an Aymara term for the agricultural technique developed by pre-Hispanic people in the Andes region of South America from Ecuador to Bolivia; this regional agricultural technique is also referred to as camellones in Spanish. Functionally similar agricultural techniques have been developed in other parts of the world, all of which fall under the broad category of raised field agriculture.

This type of altiplano field agriculture consists of parallel canals alternated by raised planting beds, which would be strategically located on floodplains or near a water source so that the fields could be properly irrigated. These flooded fields were composed of soil that was rich in nutrients due to the presence of aquatic plants and other organic materials. Through the process of mounding up this soil to create planting beds, natural, recyclable fertilizer was made available in a region where nitrogen-rich soils were rare. ^[1] By trapping solar radiation during the day, this raised field agricultural method also protected crops from freezing overnight. ^[2] These raised planting beds were irrigated very efficiently by the adjacent canals which extended the growing season significantly, allowing for more food yield. Waru Waru were able to yield larger amounts of food than previous agricultural methods due to the overall efficiency of the system.

This technique is dated to around 300 B.C., and is most commonly associated with the Tiwanaku culture of the Lake Titicaca region in southern Bolivia, who used this method to grow crops like potatoes and quinoa.^[3] This type of agriculture also created artificial ecosystems, which attracted other food sources such as fish and lake birds. Past cultures in the Lake Titicaca region likely utilized these additional resources as a subsistence method. ^[4] It combines raised beds with irrigation channels to prevent damage by soil erosion during floods. These fields ensure both collecting of water (either fluvial water, rainwater or phreatic water) and subsequent drainage. The drainage aspect of this method makes it particularly useful in many areas subjected to risks of brutal floods, such as tropical parts of Bolivia and Peru where it emerged. Raised field agricultural methods have been used in many other countries such as China, Mexico and Belize. Mexican Chinampas were similar to Waru Waru in that they were created on or near a water source in order to properly irrigate crops. Raised fields are known in Belize from various sites, including Pulltrouser Swamp.