By Evan Gelfand and Welcome Dundas (Fundación Runa Interns 2011)

Although cultivated for thousands of years by the Kichwa people of Amazonian Ecuador, very few scientific papers have been written about Ilex guayusa unknown to most outside of Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador, and even fewer—zero, to be precise—have been published relative to planting and agroforestry designs featuring guayusa.

Here at Runa we are excited by the opportunity to perform groundbreaking research in a field (both literally and figuratively) that energizes us.  We just planted our first experimental plot of 150 guayusa plants on a quarter hectare (half acre) piece of land interpopulated with bananas, yuca, guava, mandarin, and an assortment of other tropical plants next to the Runa factory in Archidona. Through this research we hope to find methods of optimizing guayusa production, to understand its ecological relationship with other plants, and to further general scientific knowledge about the plant.
Because little research has been performed on guayusa cultivation, we’ve started our search for enlightenment with the people that know guayusa best: Kichwa farmers and communities. Having grown guayusa on family tree plots for thousands of years, the Kichwa have lifetimes of practical experience with guayusa and are a valuable partner in our mission.

We began setup of the experimental plot by clearing the undergrowth surrounding the other trees on the plot—smaller plants and weeds that could disrupt growth of the new saplings. We allotted four meters between each plant to allow for sufficient spreading space, and placed each plant in a hole 6-8 inches deep. The soil around each sapling was packed slightly to allow for root contact with the ground and better nutrient uptake. In addition, we took baseline measurements and observations of every plant and created a GPS outline of the land to provide us with an exact digital representation of the plot.

Every month measurements will be taken to track growth and progress, and over time more experimental plots will be created to allow for research a variety of growing conditions. We’re looking forward to the developments over at the farm and to the additional experimental plots to test out new variables.