The first time I ever visited the Cañón del Ingre I was on loan to MEDA (the Mennonite Economic Development Association). They had spomsored a visit/tour/wandering-professorship by a North Carolinian peanut farming expert, and needed a translator. I learned a lot during the trip and have been enthusiastic about growing peanuts ever since. I planted at least a half-hectare every year I was in Imi, and even have a small patch now, in the town of Monteagudo. The peanuts always matured well, but after the first year I never had a good harvest, owing to predation. The second year it was pigs, the third it was foxes, and the last was dogs.

Careful comparative experimentation revealed these two varieties, the pïtu vae (redskin) and the overo bola (striped), as the best producers. The overos, in particular, were often huge. On the other hand, I actually preferred a smaller, less fecund variety we called okinawa, because it tasted better.