FAO Digital Media Hub - ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group

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ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group

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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. Blanca is secretary of the women’s savings group in the community of El Cercado

ECUADOR, 2025. Maria is a member of the El Cercado women’s savings group

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

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ECUADOR, 2025. Women from the savings group preparing food

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ECUADOR, 2025. Members of the women's savings group

09 July 2025. El Cercado, Ecuador. Women from the savings group prepare food for the 19 members of the association and their families. One of them holds her newborn grandchild in her arms. The savings group was born out of the urgent need to address child malnutrition, creating a space where women organize collectively to improve nutrition, support one another, and strengthen family livelihoods through agriculture and mutual aid.

07/09/2025

Country or Territory Ecuador

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

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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.