Wachaques are farms or sunken plots of land that are permanently wet. This sophisticated pre-Hispanic farming technique in the Peruvian coastal desert, involving digging and extracting groundwater, is still practised by fishermen today.
The artisanal fishermen of Huanchaco, located in Peru’s northern coast, are connected not only to the bounty of the sea but also to that of the land. They are also farmers who care for and manage their own theories on harvesting and planting totora reeds. They are also artisans who build their own vessels, such as the caballito de totora, a national heritage now on the verge of extinction, with which they fish and sustain their families.
But 2025 was a disastrous year. Several upstream sewage spills damaged more than half of the totora pools or wachaques they manage. This left them without the resource they used to build their caballitos (rafts), directly affecting their livelihoods and the town’s main attraction.
"People who come to visit Huanchaco think that the caballitos that we leave to dry along the beach are just for decoration, but they are our main tools of trade. Everyone comes to Huanchaco to take pictures with the caballitos. What will happen when there is no more totora? "
Carlos Urcia A 54-year-old fisherman and craftsman who has been fascinated by the art of totora since he was 7 years old.
Left: Harvesting totora reed from ponds. Right: Young surfer next to a caballito de totora raft. Amico.
Credit: Conservation International-Peru, Daniela.
Will tourists continue to visit Huanchaco’s restaurants, hotels, surf schools, and artisanal markets without the caballitos de totora? WACHAQUE is a short film that tells the story of how the heirs of the Moche and Chumú cultures are fighting to protect this ancestral practice and sustain their livelihoods:
Through the Surf Ecosystem Management and Blue Economy project, Conservation International and partners Save the Waves and Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental have restored 13 totora ponds and are demonstrating how effective management of the marine and coastal ecosystems surrounding surf breaks can help protect these ecosystems and generate economic benefits for coastal communities.
About the project
The project aims to demonstrate the critical role that effective management of the marine and coastal ecosystems surrounding surf breaks plays in protecting biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and in generating blue economy benefits that will motivate further ecosystem conservation. The project will collaborate with government and communities to develop tools and capacity to effectively manage surf ecosystems, support blue economy activities and the benefits linked to surf ecosystem management, and share best-practice guidelines and approaches for the protection and management of surf ecosystems and the development of a blue economy. The project is being implemented in Costa Rica, Panama and Peru.
For more information about the project, please contact Christian Lavoie, clavoie@conservation.org or Daniela Amico, damico@conservation.or and visit the project website.
Worlds by Daniela Amico.