With the last generation of elders to hold this knowledge reaching their late years, and with few apprentices, the danger of losing the ancient wisdom is a very real possibility.

A 40-minute documentary exploring Kuka Saruy (“Stepped Coca”), a nearly forgotten Andean tradition of coca leaf harvesting and ritual use that binds people, communities, and culture.

To be presented at festivals and events celebrating Indigenous knowledge, plant–human relationships, and cultural geography.

A film by: Bacilio Zea, Araceli Baños Piqueras & Faisal Tisnés

Kuka Saruy is a short film documentary project from Peru, rooted in the values of Andean culture and in the recovery and consolidation of original ancestral wisdom that could be lost as there are few elders that still practice some values and rituals that we were invited to document. This project is a way of caring for the elders and their important traditions, remarking their importances and helping their preservation.

What is Kuka Saruy?

Kuka Saruy is the name of the traditional celebration / harvesting of the Coca Leaves for their use as ritual elements in the Andes by their people. The Coca Leaf for the Andean people is the spiritual messenger with "Pachamama", mother space, and all creation.

This gathering takes place in the community of Encuentro, located in Quillabamba, known as the high jungle in Peru. This is a tradition practiced for hundreds of years, however with today's situation around the Coca Leaf prohibitions and control by the government of its cultivation and distribution it has been lost, and with this loss, the traditional ways of gathering the community to harvest together with dances and songs has also been lost. This worries the traditional people that use the leaves for ceremonial purposes because they can sense and feel that the energy of the Coca is not the same.

Film Synopsis:

Guided by the calling of the sacred mountains and the knowledge of elders, members of the Q’ero nation—guardians of ancestral coca rituals—journey from the highlands of Peru to the lowlands to obtain the sacred coca leaf.

The film chronicles the fading encounters among communities who continue to live by their ancestral wisdom, upholding ayni (reciprocity) as a guiding principle in their relationships. It reflects on the elements lost through globalization and the enduring care for their spiritual guide, the Coca Leaf.

Why are we doing a documentary about this?

The Noqanchis Community of Ancestral Knowledges, an association founded by Bacilio Zea, a medicine man from Peru, has extended an invitation to register and document this ancestral practice of the Kuka Saruy that's being lost nowadays. By documenting this, we are not only being a vehicle for the traditional ways guardians' voices, but we are also collaborating along the community to keep these traditions alive, inspiring their communities, new generations and people to continue doing it and remind other to recuperate it as a way of resistance to preserve their culture and traditions.

Social Impact

With the funds that we have gathered for this project, we haven't only used them for the production phase of the film, but we have also been donating some of the funds, and will keep on doing this, to Don Fortunato's family in Encuentro, Quillabamba, who still hold firmly this tradition and the Q'ero Community. So far we have supported with around $5,000 in the past year.

The funds have been used to better the infrastructure of their lodging capacities, and providing the food for the participants of the harvesting which requires many hands and support from the community and the traditional musicians for many days, at least 2 times a year.

Project Status

Currently we are in the stage of post-production, aiming to have a finished edited product by February 2026.

The first stages of this production included a trip to Peru for the research phase, and filming what would be used for the Trailer and the edit of the documentary. We are currently trying to raise more funds to be able to deliver a high-end polished final product including an original music score, professional sound post production and color grading for which we need more funds to be able to accomplish it.

So far, we have been invited to McKenna Academy and Wade Davis's Coca Summit in 2025 (Peru) , and also to do a Premiere Screening in Chile for Fundacion Lobeliana's Cinema Cycle about the Coca Plant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZf7QsCwlBw&t=862s

By supporting the fulfillment of this production, you're also supporting the Noqanchis Community in Peru that safeguards the traditional ways of cultivating and harvesting the Coca Plant, a millenary respected plant for the traditions of the Andes.

Budget for Project Fulfillment:

The funds raised will be distributed for:

We will be sure to say thank you in the credits of the film. We are still working on distribution and how we'll deliver the film.

If we don’t reach the full goal, all funds raised will still go directly toward completing the film and making it the best it can possibly be.

Lastly, we’re also open to sponsorship opportunities. If you’re a brand or business interested in supporting the film and having your logo included in the opening credits, please reach out. We’d love to collaborate and showcase partners who believe in this project and its message.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you’re not in a position to contribute financially, that’s completely okay. You can still help us bring this story to life by:

• Sharing this campaign with your friends, family, or community

• Spreading the word through social media or email

• Encouraging conversations around ancestral knowledge preservation, local communities support, resistance on traditional ways and culture.