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

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

09 July 2025. El Cercado, Ecuador. Women members of the savings group in the community of El Cercado weave bracelets while waiting for the start of their monthly meeting, where the board collects payments and issues loans. This savings group was created by mothers seeking access to financial resources to support initiatives such as home gardens and animal husbandry, aiming to combat malnutrition among their children.

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

UNFAO Source FAO Photo Library

File size 10.02 MB

Unique ID UF1ADR1

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.