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ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking fava beans
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras
ECUADOR, 2025. Holding various native maize varieties
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. MarÃa is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Holding wild blackberries
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC
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ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
08 July 2025. Cotacachi, Ecuador. A family chakra (traditional agroecological plot) with chocho (Andean lupin) growing among other native crops. Chocho is a highly nutritious legume, rich in protein and essential for food security in the highlands.
07/08/2025
Country or Territory
Ecuador
Credit
© FAO / Johanna Alarcón
Related URL
Related FAO Feature Story:
https://www.fao.org/newsroom/story/secrets-of-the-andean-chakras/en
File size
15.74 MB
Unique ID
UF1ADQP
Editorial use only. Photo credit must be given. For further information contact: Photo-Library@fao.org
Background Information
Kichwa women and their ancestral agricultural knowledge have sustained food security in Ecuador’s highlands for centuries. Their farms, known as chakra, were recognized in 2023 by FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). Indigenous women like Magdalena are seed guardians, preserving native maize varieties and passing this knowledge to her daughter Verónica.
Climate change-related droughts, floods and pests threaten this system, but with FAO’s support, organizations like UNORCAC work with Kichwa communities to strengthen resilience through the use and exchange of native seeds.