Visit Aymara Indians grinding grains, sewing, and boatbuilding to fish Lake Titicaca between Peru and Bolivia
Some Uru and Aymara Indians on Lake Titicaca, South America, subsist through traditional agriculture and fishing. Inhabitants of floating totora islands are shown crushing grain with a saddle quern, embroidering wool cloth and other items for purchase by tourists, and finishing a small totora reed boat.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Sprawled across the border of Bolivia and Peru is Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world.
The Aymara Indians were living in the Titicaca basin long before the Inca conquered these territories. Today, some Aymara groups continue to subsist on fish, much as their ancestors did, and to live on floating islands of reeds, where they grow potatoes, quinoa, barley, and wheat.
Relying on the barter system, these Aymara trade the food they produce for wool. Otherwise, they depend almost entirely on the lake for their survival.
The Aymara Indians were living in the Titicaca basin long before the Inca conquered these territories. Today, some Aymara groups continue to subsist on fish, much as their ancestors did, and to live on floating islands of reeds, where they grow potatoes, quinoa, barley, and wheat.
Relying on the barter system, these Aymara trade the food they produce for wool. Otherwise, they depend almost entirely on the lake for their survival.