FAO Digital Media Hub - ECUADOR 2025. Wide shot of Cuicocha lake, formed in a volcano crater

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ECUADOR 2025. Wide shot of Cuicocha lake, formed in a volcano crater

08 July 2025. Cuicocha, Ecuador. Landscape view of Cuicocha Lagoon, a sacred site for Kichwa communities in Cotacachi.

07/08/2025

Country or Territory Ecuador

Related URL Related FAO Feature Story: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/story/secrets-of-the-andean-chakras/en

File size 12.90 MB

Unique ID UF1ADQO

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.