After going through this course and learning so many new things, it was only fitting that the final “official” unit introduced a group that I have never heard of before. Prior to this unit, I had no idea who the Quechua were or where they were from. After I read the assigned readings for this unit, I feel like I have learned enough about them to write a short blog-post. Admittedly, I still do not have a base of solid understanding on this group. However, within the readings, I was able to take away three main ideas, and that was their sense of community, the involvement of women, and the idea of barter markets.

In regards to their sense of community, the paper on the idea of the “commons” by Caffentzis and Federici was really helpful. While the reading did not specifically pertain to the Quechua group, it did help explain the importance of commons within a given context. From what I have read, this group is driven on the concepts of community. It plays a significant part in both sumaq causay and ayni, as outlined in the Argumendo and Pimbert reading.

Argumendo and Pimbert’s reading played a really significant role in demonstrating the role of women and barter markets within the Quechua society. Women play a number major roles within this group. For example, in regards to food security, they are “key players in this non-monetary market…” (Argumendo & Pimbert, 2010, p. 346). Women are also heavily involved within the concept of barter markets.

The final take away from the readings I had was how significant barter markets were to the Quechua. This concept relates to the other two concepts mentioned above, as they a) give a sense of community within the group, and b) require the involvement of women to exist. While I mentioned all three points separately, it is not hard to notice that these three aspects of Quechua life coincide and connect well with one another.