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Cocaleros/ BOLIVIA { 44 images } Created 3 Oct 2012

The leave of coca plant is a base of the Andean culture. People from the 'altiplano' has always been using it for its nutritional, medical and magical characteristics. Cocaine is its chemical and artificial by-product, that has converted the holy leave in "the bad grass", in the demonized leave, illegal in almost the whole world and cause of fights in Bolivia, one of its major producer.
In this country many people lives on the harvest of this plant. In fact, a big movement led by the president Evo Morales, is working to industrialize the transformation of the plant in food, cosmetics and medicines, and he is fighting for the international decriminalization of this leave full of virtues.
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  • Abel Alarcon  coca grower from Huancanè, a small village of bolivian Sur Yungas, watch with satisfaction his harvest of coca-leaves. In few time he 'll close the bag and drop it (with three others) to Villa fatima market, a suburb of La Paz. It's the big one market in the country. According to bolivian laws he can grow the coca because his fields are in the traditional area of Yungas, wehere everybody grow coca for traditionasl uses. But he can't use anykind of intermediaries, he must bring his harverst to the market by himself and he have also to sell it only to the wholesalers.
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  • The coca from yungas grow at 1500-1800 meters on sea level, the plants don't reach the meter of high
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  • Every grower of Yungas have the right to posses a "cato" (400 sq. meters) for coca cultivation, eevery member of Alarcon family have one. The harves is a family job job, work, agricolture
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  • Bolivia. Dipartimento di La Paz..La foglia di coca delle Yungas viene raccolta con una tecnica particolare  volta a preservarne l'integrità..<br />
<br />
There is a special way to recollect the coca leaves and presere their integrity job, work, agricolture
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  • There is a special way to recollect the coca leaves and presere their integrity. job, work, agricolture
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  • The daily harvest is softly passed from the bag to another. job, work, agricolture
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  • Leaving the "naked" field, all the harvest is in the bag. job, work, agricolture
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  • Helped by his brothers, Abel Alarcon, coca grower from Huancané, a small village spread the coca leaves just collected, before the sun come and dry the leaves job, work, agricolture
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  • The sun of Yungas will dry naturally the coca leaves job, work, agriculture, landscape
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  • The sun of Yungas will dry naturally the coca leaves, they put the harvest everywhere job, work, agricolture
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  • Preparing the leaves for the dealing means also a phase of rewetting job, work, agricolture
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  • Preparing the leaves for the dealing means also a phase of rewetting, and after a pressing for to pack job, work, agricolture
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  • Waiting a natural "re-dry" of the leves, submerged in the harvest job, work, agricolture
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  • Packaging the harvest job, work, agricolture
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  • Abel Alarcon is checking the weight of his harvest before to go to the market. job, work, agricolture
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  • Abel Alarcon inside the Villa Fatima market, selling directly his harvest
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  • Inside the Villa Fatima market. job, work, agricolture
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  • Abel Alarcon inside the Villa Fatima market, selling directly his harvest
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  • A bag of coca leaves job, work, agricolture
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  • Outside the Villa Fatima market. job, work, agricolture
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  • n heavy bag of coca leaving Villa Fatima's market job, work, agriculture, woman, traditional hat, market, Villa Fatima
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  • The "cholita" bring the cca leaves inside her typical hat, her son probably don't speak but he now perfectly where those small green leaves are going.
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  • Dealing coca on the bolivian streets
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  • On the Coca leave  museum of La Paz
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  • On the Coca leave  museum of La Paz
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  • Doctor Jorge Hurtado, psychotherapist and founder of coca museum, use , as an harm recuction method, the coca leaf for to teach of the drigs addicts. the traditional slow way to chew
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  • Doctor Jorge Hurtado, psychotherapist and founder of coca museum, use , as an harm recuction method, the coca leaf for to teach of the drigs addicts. the traditional slow way to chew. He's practice as like as many people in Bolivia, the using to put a piece of lime for to liberate quickly the effects of coca leaf
    319_120_030.jpg
  • Melby Molinas, owner of company that make food and medical stuff with coca, are promoting their products in a special of a local tv, at Cochabamba.
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  • In the industrialization of coca leaf, the bigger part is the one of medical products, a small factory from El Alto, La Paz, is doing, early manually, ointment, syrups and many other things using coca leaves
    319_120_033.jpg
  • In the industrialization of coca leaf, the bigger part is the one of medical products, a small factory from El Alto, La Paz, is doing, early manually, ointment, syrups and many other things using coca leaves
    319_120_035.jpg
  • The miners of Cerro Rico PotosÏ are chewing coca before to entry in the mine
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  • The miners of Cerro Rico Potosì are chewing coca before to entry in the mine
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  • At "Goto de Agua", typical "peña" of La Paz, every order is accompanied by a dish of coca leaves
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  • At "Goto de Agua", typical "peña" of La Paz, every order is accompanied by a dish of coca leaves
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  • At "Goto de Agua", typical "peña" of La Paz, every order is accompanied by a dish of coca leaves
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  • LIke every others coca grower, Abel Alarcon is member of a local union, Adepcoca is the one of Sur Yungas area. his card is a pass for to bring coca to the market, otherwise, withouta card, he can be accused of narcotraffic..the unon card is also a sign of political affiliation. The coca growers, cocaleros, are a grat part of national change leaded by Evo Morales, nowadays blovian president but before a coca grower
    319_120_042.jpg
  • Bolivia. Cochabamba. Rene Santander, secretary of union " Federazione cocalera del Tropico" , Rene Santander ,during an assembly into the Union's salon at Cochabamba..
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  • Parlamentarian Paulina Quispe's, whit shopping bag and coca-leavs bag, intervening in an Union's assembly at Lauca Ene, talking about industrialization of coca
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  • The army that once upon a time was employed for destroy every field of coca, now is incharged to operate the voluntary auto recuction until a "one man one cato" into the fields of authorized coca growers of Chapare
    319_120_047.jpg
  • The army that once upon a time was employed for destroy every field of coca, now is incharged to operate the voluntary auto recuction until a "one man one cato" into the fields of authorized coca growers of Chapare
    319_120_048.jpg
  • The army that once upon a time was employed for destroy every field of coca, now is incharged to operate the voluntary auto recuction until a "one man one cato" into the fields of authorized coca growers of Chapare
    319_120_050.jpg
  • Fructuoso Yerbas, Union's leader and coca grower, los his leg duirng the struggle against te"coca zero plan" managed by DEA. Nowadays he's just  a taxi driver, he definitively lost his field.
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  • Evo means coca
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  • Followers Evo Morales and the MAS party proudly show their coca-leaes bag as asymbol of freedom
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