It is the first experimental step in an innovative plan to recuperate Peru's disappearing Andean glaciers.
The World Bank clearly believes the idea, the brainchild of 55-year-old Peruvian inventor, Eduardo Gold has merit as it was one of the 26 winners from around 1,700 submissions in the "100 Ideas to Save the Planet" competition at the end of 2009.The paint is made from three simple and environmentally-friendly ingredients: lime, industrial egg white and water, a mixture which has been used since Peru's colonial times. There are no paint brushes, the workers use jugs to splash the whitewash onto the loose rocks around the summit.Mr Gold may not be a scientist but his idea is based on the simple scientific principle that when sunlight is reflected off a white or light-coloured surface, solar energy passes back through the atmosphere and out into space, rather than warming the Earth's surface.