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ECUADOR, 2025. Wide shot of the Imbabura Volcano
ECUADOR, 2025. Wide shot of the Imbabura Volcano 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR 2025. Lake San Pablo, the largest lake in the Imbabura province
ECUADOR 2025. Lake San Pablo, the largest lake in the Imbabura province 
ECUADOR 2025.  Wide shot of Cuicocha lake, formed in a volcano crater
ECUADOR 2025. Wide shot of Cuicocha lake, formed in a volcano crater 
ECUADOR, 2025. Camote, a sweet root vegetable grown in the highlands
ECUADOR, 2025. Camote, a sweet root vegetable grown in the highlands 
ECUADOR, 2025. Carmen is co-founder of the Central Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC)
ECUADOR, 2025. Carmen is co-founder of the Central Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC) 
ECUADOR, 2025. Recently harvested plantain
ECUADOR, 2025. Recently harvested plantain 
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras 
ECUADOR, 2025. Remolacha grown in local gardens
ECUADOR, 2025. Remolacha grown in local gardens 
ECUADOR, 2025. Flour varieties at community fair
ECUADOR, 2025. Flour varieties at community fair 
ECUADOR, 2025. Highland potato variety
ECUADOR, 2025. Highland potato variety 
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC 
ECUADOR, 2025. Carmen is co-founder of the Central Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC)
ECUADOR, 2025. Carmen is co-founder of the Central Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC) 
ECUADOR, 2025. Maize grown by Kichwa community
ECUADOR, 2025. Maize grown by Kichwa community 
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC 
ECUADOR, 2025. Women producers at the community fair
ECUADOR, 2025. Women producers at the community fair 
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ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
06 July 2025. Cotacachi, Ecuador. Landscape view of Imbabura volcano. 
07/06/2025 
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 6.68 MB 
Unique ID UF1ADNY 
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.