Domna Narcisa preparing chicha from mandioca (also called yuca).  Women chew the washed and peeled yuca and spit the juice into a bowl.  Yuca root is very starchy, and therefore the enzymes in the women’s saliva rapidly convert the starch into simple sugar, which is further converted by wild yeast or bacteria into alcohol.  After the juice has fermented in the bowl for a few days, the chicha is ready.  Chicha is the main source of liquids and carbohydrates.  People drink it every day.