What better represents the concept of  “textured,” the wordpress photo challenge, than photos from a Trafkintu?  A Trafkintu, for those unfamiliar with the Mapuche term, is the traditional indigenous seed exchange which has been occurring in Southern Chile for generations.  Although industrial agriculture has made many inroads into Chile, the traditional native focus on agricultural knowledge, ceremonies, and practices continues to preserve pockets of non-genetically modified fruits, grains, and vegetables.  This is the type of food we consume, and the growers of “real” food are the people we try to support through direct purchases at the local farmers’ markets whenever possible.  In search of some seeds to supplement our fledgling garden, we headed to the Trafkintu.  The textured display of people, music, and seeds at the ceremony was a great start to our Saturday morning.

Trafkintu is a ceremony where seeds, plants, knowledge and friendship are shared and exchanged, in order to preserve knowledge of traditional plants and practices.  This event was hosted at the Universidad Austral de Chile in Isla Teja, though the gatherings also take place in Santiago and in locations scattered throughout the country.  It is a great way to learn about the best practices for planting different types of seeds, and about regional planting and harvesting practices.  Many roamed the room carrying cameras, asking questions, and taking copious notes.  Besides finding seeds for plants like corn, beans and quinoa, there were bulbs, cuttings, a few woolen hats, and olive oil on display.  My toddler really enjoyed petting a large intact sheepskin hide she found, and after this had fun trying to grab seeds off of the tables.

As newcomers in Valdivia, we didn’t have anything to exchange,though desired seeds for our fledgling garden.  We had yet to find a source for “real” seeds.  Our goal is to plant organic plants and seeds that are not transgenic or genetically modified in any way.  Ideally, we’ll include many heritage varietals, using seeds from plants that have been traditionally grown in Chile rather than hybrids created to grab consumers’ attention at supermarkets (since we’d choose ugly, tasty vegetables over big, brightly colored unblemished ones any day of the week!)  Although Chile is a huge exporter of organic produce, it is surprisingly difficult to find “real” seeds in Chile, due to the large presence of multinational agricultural biotech organizations such as Monsanto.  Trafkintus are our best hope to find what we have been looking for since Mapuche women have been traditionally growing plants and exchanging seeds for generations.

We attended this seed exchange where use of cash is highly discouraged, armed with nothing to exchange, but desperately wanting real seeds.  Our only hope was to make friends or to somehow convince strangers to take pity on the “rich Americans” (we’re nowhere near rich, but the stereotype lingers within Chile) and provide us with the gift of a seed or bulb.  This added another element of texture, namely trying to communicate across cultural stereotypes and linguistic boundaries.  I imagine we were a bit of a curiosity to many at the event.  Fortunately, our adorable and bilingual daughter remains our secret weapon.  She won smiles from even the most stoic participants, had fun hiding behind the curtains with another little girl, and was given a gift of a bulb as we headed out the door.  We still aren’t sure what kind of plant will grow from the bulb, but were told that it’s easy to grow and needs lots of rain, so it should be right at home in our patio garden.