FAO Digital Media Hub - 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. Alexandra is a member of the women producers' organization,

ECUADOR 2025. Jazmin is a member of the local community groups

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

ECUADOR 2025. Jazmin is a member of the local community groups

ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC

UCUADOR, 2025. Luz María, a member of the women’s committee of UNORCAC

ECUADOR, 2025. FAO Goodwill Ambassador Rodrigo Pacheco with Women’s Committee member, Luz María

ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC

ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC

ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC

ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC

ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC

ECUADOR, 2025. FAO Goodwill Ambassador Rodrigo Pacheco with Women’s Committee member, Luz María

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ECUADOR, 2025. Carmen is co-founder of the Central Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC)

06 July 2025. Cotacachi, Ecuador. Carmen Farinango (67), from the community of Tunibamba, co-founder of the Central Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC), poses for a portrait at Jambi Mascari, headquarters of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi.

07/06/2025

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 13.46 MB

Unique ID UF1ADNP

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.