YUNGAS, Bolivia (AP) 鈥 Tomas Zavala performs a ritual ahead of each workday in his coca field.
Deep in the lush green mountains of Yungas region, the 69-year-old farmer closes his eyes, faces the soil, and asks for permission to harvest coca leaves.
鈥淭he coca leaf is the core of our survival,鈥 Zavala said. 鈥淚f we work the land without permission, it gets ruined.鈥
Outside Bolivia, the green leaf is best known as the main ingredient . But within the it is widely considered sacred, present in both rituals and everyday life.
鈥淭he coca leaf allows us to send our children to school and put food on the table,鈥 said Zavala, who relies on harvesting coca leaves for income. 鈥淚t鈥檚 useful for everything.鈥
The practice that fuels 叠辞濒颈惫颈补鈥檚 workforce
Bolivia recognizes the coca leaf as part of its cultural heritage, allowing cultivation within designated areas. According to the country鈥檚 Coca Producers Association, its production employs more than 45,000 people nationwide.
Most Bolivians use coca leaves for 鈥渂oleo,鈥 a practice recognized as an intangible cultural heritage since 2016. The word has no English translation. It means placing a compact wad of leaves inside the cheek.
Many refer to it as chewing, but the leaves are rarely treated like gum. Instead, people let them slowly release their active compounds. The alkaloids act as stimulants, though producers and government officials insist their effects remain mild 鈥 far from those of processed cocaine.
鈥淚t slows down our fatigue and takes away our hunger,鈥 said Rudi Paxi, secretary of the producers association. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l always watch the people from Yungas doing boleo as they head to work.鈥
Neri Argane, 60, works at a coca plantation in Yungas for 11 hours a day, six days per week. 鈥淲e do this no matter the sun, the rain or the cold,鈥 Argane said.
She eats bananas, rice and corn tortillas to keep up her strength. But only boleo enables her to endure long hours crouching in the fields, she says.
Families pass down coca fields like heirlooms
叠辞濒颈惫颈补鈥檚 government has made several attempts to highlight how the coca leaf is intertwined with its people鈥檚 cultural traditions.
Even as coca’s global reputation remains linked to drug trafficking, President Luis Arce sought to highlight its cultural roots. Earlier this year, he performed a public boleo to mark National Coca Chewing Day.
鈥淥ur government values the 鈥嬧媍oca because it is a cultural symbol,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t represents our identity and sovereignty. It has medicinal and ritual values, and is a source of social cohesion.鈥
In the Yungas region, where Zavala lives about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital city of La Paz, the heritage of dozens of families is tied to these hardy leaves.
鈥淚 watched my parents working the land since I was 8,鈥 he said. 鈥淟uckily, they entrusted it to me. So I could survive.鈥
M贸nica L贸pez also inherited her parents鈥 coca fields in a neighboring town. 鈥淚 have been a farmer for as long as I can remember,鈥 she said.
Raising healthy coca leaves is demanding. All work is done by hand, without machinery or animals to help. Farmers prepare the soil by October, sow the land by December and harvest the crops around February.
Most fields are handled by family members. On any given day in Yungas, it鈥檚 common to spot children next to their mothers and grandparents while they clean the leaves.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in the coca fields since I was 2 and I can tell you this work is hard,鈥 said 22-year-old Alejandra Escobar. 鈥淏ut the coca leaf brings us plenty of benefits. When we have no money, it鈥檚 what we consume.鈥
Bolivians from rural areas regularly drink coca leaf tea to heal headaches and stomach inflammation. Elsewhere in the country, people use it for pancakes, ice cream .
鈥淭he coca is everywhere,鈥 Paxi said. 鈥淚t unites us as families. It鈥檚 our company.鈥
Coca leaf nourishes both body and spirit
The coca leaf also plays a key role in Bolivians鈥 spirituality. 鈥淚t鈥檚 used to start most of our rituals,鈥 said anthropologist Milton Eyzaguirre. 鈥淏efore you start a new job, for example, you set up a 鈥榤esa鈥 (or table) and coca leaves around.鈥
In the worldview of the Aymara, the region’s Indigenous people, 鈥榤esas鈥 are offerings for Pachamama (Mother Earth). Built from wooden logs, they are arranged by spiritual leaders who pray for wealth, protection and good health.
鈥淭he coca leaf helps us see,鈥 said Neyza Hurtado, who was hired by a family to perform a ritual ahead of the recent Pachamama month. 鈥淏y deciphering a coca leaf, you can know how a person is.鈥
Personal rituals with coca leaves are common. According to Eyzaguirre, bricklayers regularly make a boleo before each workday. And like Zavala, they ask for Mother Earth鈥檚 permission to kick off the day.
鈥淧eople even use it to travel,鈥 Eyzaguirre said. 鈥淲hen you go somewhere by foot, you make coca offerings and consume it, to gather strength.鈥
Rituals for Pachamama live on in the Yungas
L贸pez鈥檚 coca leaf rituals start on the first minute of Aug. 1. 鈥淲e thank Mother Earth, because if she gets tired, nothing sprouts,鈥 she said.
At the mesa inside her home, her spiritual leader places sweets, rice and cinnamon. Before lighting it on fire to complete the offering, L贸pez adds 12 coca leaves. 鈥淲e ask for wishes with the coca,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e ask for good luck for 12 months, from August to August.鈥
Just like the Yungas field, her faith in Pachamama was inherited from her parents. Now she performs her rituals alongside her five children, hoping they will keep the tradition alive.
Zavala鈥檚 rituals occur both inside his house and in his field. He, too, encourages his grandchildren to participate. 鈥淲e need Pachamama in the terrain, to have a good production,鈥 he said.
Aside from asking Mother Earth鈥檚 permission to work, Zavala performs an Andean tradition known as 鈥渃haya.鈥 The word refers to the custom of spraying alcohol onto the ground as an offering, either for requests or as an act of gratitude that symbolizes giving back to Pachamama.
鈥淚t鈥檚 what our elders passed down to us”, he said. “So we must preserve it.鈥
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
