By: Eliza
When most people hear the word coca, they think of the drug. However, this is far from the whole story. Yes, a chemical from the leaves of the coca plant is the essential ingredient in cocaine, but it’s not the only one. Coca leaves, water, gasoline, kerosene, sulfuric acid and various chemicals are included in the mixture that gives way to the final product cocaine.
It is necessary to separate coca from this connection to cocaine in order to realize its significant role in Andean culture. The coca plant is a bush native to the Andes Mountains of South America. First harvested by the Incas, this plant has been used for medicinal purposes by the inhabitants of this mountainous region for thousands of years.
Millions of inhabitants in this region are faced with poverty and drink coca tea or chew the leaves in order to alleviate hunger, fatigue, and altitude sickness. The coca leaf is a source of energy, enabling families and laborers to get through a day of arduous work, particularly miners and agricultural workers in Peru and Bolivia.
In addition, the coca leaf is the livelihood for the many coca farmers in the Andean region and the means of supporting their families. For the Quechan and Aymara indigenous people, the coca leaf is more than a means of survival. It is a vital part of religious rituals and ceremonies, such as offerings to divinities and their connection to Pachamama, Mother Earth.
To the ancient and current inhabitants of the Andes, this leaf remains sacred. Yet it has been perceived unjustly in the eyes of many. It is time to look beyond labels and open our eyes to the importance of this leaf, the spirit and identity of this culture. In the words of Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, “The green coca leaf is not the white of cocaine. This coca leaf represents Andean culture. It is a coca leaf that represents the environment and the hopes of our people.”
the coca leaf