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Digital Asset Management (DAM) by Orange Logic
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ECUADOR, 2025. Seedlings in Maria's garden
ECUADOR, 2025. Maria is a member of the El Cercado women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Feeding the families chickens
ECUADOR, 2025. Blanca is secretary of the women’s savings group in the community of El Cercado
ECUADOR, 2025. Blanca is secretary of the women’s savings group in the community of El Cercado
ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Blanca is secretary of the women’s savings group in the community of El Cercado
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Traditional woven hair tie
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
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. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Zayra is treasurer of the women’s savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group
ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group
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ECUADOR, 2025. Maria is president of the women's savings group
09 July 2025. El Cercado, Ecuador. María Carmen Karanqui Liquinchana (54), president of the women’s savings group in the community of El Cercado, poses for a portrait at her home. She leads one of the most active community savings initiatives in Cotacachi, supporting women’s economic autonomy and the collective fight against child malnutrition.
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
10.00 MB
Unique ID
UF1ADRC
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.