FAO Digital Media Hub - ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony

Hide details

Alternative Versions

Tags

Farmers

Women

Explore More Collections

Conceptually similar

ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony

ECUADOR 2025. Wide shot of Cuicocha lake, formed in a volcano crater

ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers at the community fair

ECUADOR, 2025. María is the coordinator of the Chakras Andinas SIPAM project

ECUADOR, 2025. Alexandra is a member of the women producers' organization,

Similar tones

View images with similar tones

Add to collection

Download

ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony

08 July 2025. Cuicocha, Ecuador. Kichwa women from the Ancestral Health Committee of UNORCAC (Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi) perform an ancestral Andean ceremony at Cuicocha Lagoon to give thanks to the Earth—Pachamama—for the harvest of their food. The lagoon is a sacred site of spiritual renewal and plays a vital role in the agricultural and cultural life of Indigenous communities in Cotacachi. ©FAO/Johanna Alarcón. Editorial use only. Copyright ©FAO.

07/08/2025

Country or Territory Ecuador

Credit © FAO /

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 9.03 MB

Unique ID UF1ADQJ

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.