It worked for them because they could use their existing garden areas to intersperse with medicinal plants and it worked for my company since the plants we were having them grow couldn't be wild harvested sustainably. Being a horse-back riding Texan from way back, I opted for a horse for the long journey up into the mountains. I figured a horse was just the ticket. I quickly found out that Andean horses are quite small and not all that sure footed. But to be honest, some of the trails we traversed even a Texas mountain goat would have a hard time negotiating.
Andean saddles are indescribable.
A bone affair stitched with rawhide and only about 2 inches wide in the center where you sat. I mostly rode barefooted since the stirrups were so small I couldn't get my tennis shoes into them. I soon found out that this was the best trail I would be on for a week, even though my horse got stuck in the mud twice on it. Judging the depth of the mud became a real skill when leading the horse up and down the trails. Some of the mud holes were as high as the horse's belly.