Men to Match the Mountains

Claes: Marcelino Cruz is the former President of Copa Grande, a small farming village in the Cordillera Blanca. We're standing outside of his home, looking at the maize that has yet to grow. And with the magnificent Copa glacier in sight. (The glacier is to the north of the magnificent peak Huascara - above - the highest point in Peru)

Marcelino has lived here all his life, but now he tells us that he doesn't expect his two children to stay. There simply will not be enough water fir them to be able to continue farming the land. At the rate the glacier is melting, Marcelino thinks it'll be entirely gone in maybe twenty - thirty years. And with no water, there's no life in Copa.

Marcelino's thirteen year old daughter Margot is standing by his side, petting the new puppy. She doesn't seem overly concerned about her Dad's prediction of her future.

Just around the corner from where we're standing is Kate Dunbar's rental room. Kate is from Univ. of Georgia and is working on her Ph.D in anthropology. She has been here for thirteen months and has another three to go before her field work is done. I have known Kate since my visit here last December and I think her work on how climate change's social and cultural effects in fascinating.
Kate walks us down toward the center of the village. But we don't get very far before the first thunder clap rolls across the valley. It's a tremendous roaring sound with a long rumbling tail. And it's followed by plenty more. Somehow we disregard these obvious signs are a caught in the rain. We quickly try to cover up ourselves and the electronic equipment and return to Kate's room.

Copa is struggling. Water managememt and drip irrigation are fine ideas, but without a way to store the melt-off from the glacier (or the heavy precipitation) there'll be a lack of water come the dry season. But who will pay for a reservoir? To make ends meet Marcelino is working as a security guard ever night at a rose plantation halfway down the hill. And the central government in Lima can't afford to build one either.