FAO Digital Media Hub - ECUADOR, 2025. María is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project

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ECUADOR, 2025. María is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project

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ECUADOR, 2025. María is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project

08 July 2025. Cuicocha, Ecuador. María Piñan, coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project, poses for a portrait at Cuicocha Lagoon. She works alongside Kichwa women farmers to strengthen ancestral agricultural practices that are deeply connected to spirituality, biodiversity, and the protection of native seeds.

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 12.23 MB

Unique ID UF1ADQN

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.