From Production to the Pier: Monday March 7, 2011

From the buckled highway roads going out of downtown Lima, Jose explained to us some of the unique sights demonstrating Peru’s economic takeoff. Pueblos jovenes, literally “young towns” where rural Peruvians immigrated to be closer to the city and employment, popped up from the dusty hills. On the left, hundreds of trees dotted the arid landscape as part of an environmental program to slow erosion and create more fertile soil.

Adam, Nathan and Mark get a tour of the Keyfarm facility

Jose was very excited to show Team Keyfarm his production facility on the outskirts of Lima. Jose and his production manager Guillermo gave us a thorough tour of the facility where they make high quality generic pharmaceuticals for sale in Peruvian parafarmacias. We put on hardhats, rolled up our sleeves and witnessed the entire process: raw materials, testing and quality control, mixing, coating, packaging, and printing. Jose is very proud of his production facility, and he has every reason to be.

After our tour, Jose wanted to show us some of the best cerviche in town. The restaurant was located on the shore of the Pacific Ocean in the Barranco neighborhood and offered picturesque views of Miraflores. Cerviche is raw fish bathed in a citrus-based marinade, thinly sliced onions, salt and pepper. I have never had fresher fish than in Peru. The tender white and pink meat was plucked from the Pacific just a few hours earlier. Peruvians also take a lot of pride in this dish – they claim to have invented it 500 years ago.

Delicious cerviche and other Peruvian specialties

Our day closed on the pier, overlooking the beautiful stone beaches of Miraflores. Team Keyfarm has been blown away by our host’s hospitality and willingness to share Peruvian culture. We are working hard to repay him by presenting actionable, value-adding recommendations on Friday.