Close
The page header's logo
Home

Help

 Library
Login
FAO Staff Login
Register
0
Selected 
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
 Click here to refresh results
 Click here to refresh results
Terms and conditions
Privacy notice
Digital Asset Management (DAM) by Orange Logic
Go to Login page
 Hide details
play button
Alternative Versions
Tags
Farmers
Explore More Collections
Conceptually similar
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. 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. Harvesting maize
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize 
ECUADOR, 2025. Women from the savings group preparing food
ECUADOR, 2025. Women from the savings group preparing food 
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group 
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group 
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group 
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group 
ECUADOR, 2025. Holding wild blackberries
ECUADOR, 2025. Holding wild blackberries 
ECUADOR, 2025. One of Zayra's hens
ECUADOR, 2025. One of Zayra's hens 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking fava beans
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking fava beans 
ECUADOR, 2025. Laying hens
ECUADOR, 2025. Laying hens 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking with fava beans
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking with fava beans 
ECUADOR, 2025. María is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project
ECUADOR, 2025. María is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project 
Action button
Similar tones
similar-image
similar-image
similar-image
similar-image
similar-image
similar-image
View images with similar tones
Action button
 Add to collection
 Download
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
09 July 2025. El Cercado, Ecuador. Landscape view of an Andean chakra (traditional agroecological plot) in the community of El Cercado, home to the largest women’s savings group among the surrounding communities. 
07/09/2025 
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
UNFAO Source FAO Photo Library
File size 12.65 MB 
Unique ID UF1ADQR 
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.