Santiago de Okola

Santiago de Okola is a small and traditional community located on the shores of Titicaca Lake, based on fishing and agriculture. This community is part of Sisasani district, Municipality of Carabuco Port, Camacho Province. Santiago de Okola is at 2.5 hours from La Paz, by road and 1.5 hours from the Island of the Sun, with a motored boat. About 80 families live in Santiago de Okola, some live in a permanent way and other travel between La Paz and Okola. Santiago de Okola has been identified as a micro-center of agro-biodiversity – for the different Andean cultures the residents sow. Numerous Andean native cultures are produced there, such as papa (potato), gooses, quinoa and isaño, and also a variety of culture was introduced like beans, arbeja, wheat, barley, etc…. Another activity is to fish in Titicaca Lake; they mostly fish the “ispi”, native animal of about 4 centimeters. Feeding is also important for them, they have guinea pigs, donkeys, sheep, pigs, and cows. Then, they practice Andean cultural and traditional activities such as the use of medicinal plants to cure some diseases, rituals to the “Pachamama” (the Mother-Earth) for the cultures (sowing and harvest), creation of tissues like t’aris and aguayos. Since 2005, they organized themselves in order to be able to host national and international tourists.