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The key to cultivating loroco? According to one family of growers, it’s a woman’s touch

Guillermo Marroquín compares the loroco with a rose; it flourishes with a woman’s light touch versus that of a man.

  • 1 year ago
  • April 18, 2022
1 min read
Guillermo Marroquín
Interview Subject
Guillermo Marroquín, leader of the San Pedro Masahuat Loroqueros Agricultural Association in the Department of La Paz, El Salvador.
Background Information
Loroco is a perennial plant native to Central America. The flowers are a key component to Salvadoran cuisine; specifically, it is often an ingredient in pupusas, a corn-based dish popular in El Salvador.

EL ACHIOTAL, El Salvador Under an intense sun, the extended Marroquin-Gavidida family—mothers, daughters, aunts, wives, and nieces—work the fields together. They dedicate their efforts to growing loroco cuttings in a special nursery built for their production, part of an effort to foster rural development and eradicate hunger locally.

Guillermo Marroquín compares the loroco with a rose; it flourishes with a woman’s light touch versus that of a man. He says the hands of the women in his family have a special touch to make the plant bigger and more robust, ensuring that its leaves are greener and that it develops faster.

About 32 people total work on the farm. The men carry out the heaviest labor-intensive tasks, while the women handle the production of cuttings and the care of the plants. They do most of their work at night, filling the days with cooking and family time.  

All photos by Beatriz Rivas

Translation Disclaimer

Translations provided by Orato World Media are intended to result in the end translated document being understandable in the end language. Although every effort is made to ensure our translations are accurate we cannot guarantee the translation will be without errors.

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