‘Coca leaf is life itself’: Andean growers’ hopes fade as WHO upholds global curb

An Indigenous Bolivian woman collects coca leaves in Chimoré market, Chapare province. As well as having ritual significance, the leaf is used by about 5 million people a day in the Andes as a stimulant like coffee or tea. Photograph: Marcelo Perez del Carpio

For thousands of years, Andean people living around what is now the town of Coripata, east of La Paz, Bolivia, have used coca leaves to relieve fatigue, hunger and altitude sickness (known as soroche), as well as to treat headaches and digestive problems.

Concerned about the future of this cultural and religious practice, Daynor Choque, heir to this ancient tradition, points to a pile of leaves on the table in front of him.