PASS IT ON - RUNNER-UP
PERU

"Yachachiq" is the Inca name for people who pass on knowledge. That's how Sierra Productiva - a federation of peasant's groups - is setting about improving the lot of small farmers in Peru, having started in the ancient Inca capital, Cusco. At elevations of 4000 metres and on precipitous slopes, "improvement" is a formidable undertaking. But through the Yachachiq the campesinos are learning organic techniques to dramatically boost production from both livestock and crops.

The main technology has been harnessing of springs and the use of drip irrigation systems, freeing the farmers from dependence on rainfall that gave them only one harvest a year.