SUMAQ KAWSAY (GOOD LIVING) AND INDIGENOUS POTATOES: On the Delicate Exercise of Ontological Diplomacy

Abstract

Although the Peruvian government has only recently recognized its status, the Potato Park in Pisac, Peru, is a globally acclaimed example of conservation. An alternative development model known as Sumaq kawsay, a Quechua expression that is commonly translated as “good living” (or buen vivir in Spanish), is being developed there in line with the Park’s priority for the conservation of potato landraces. This chapter examines the discourse produced within the Potato Park around Sumaq kawsay, presented as an indigenous alternative to naturalistic or modern ontology. The author argues that this discourse has roots not only in indigenous principles but also within global dynamics, namely a working group connected to the Convention on Biological Diversity. She shows how a non-governmental organization plays the role of ontological diplomat in this process and analyses what the exercise of this diplomacy means and entails for other actors locally, nationally, and internationally.