Close
The page header's logo
Home

Help

 Library
Login
FAO Staff Login
Register
0
Selected 
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
 Click here to refresh results
 Click here to refresh results
Terms and conditions
Privacy notice
Digital Asset Management (DAM) by Orange Logic
Go to Login page
 Hide details
play button
Tags
Farmers
Explore More Collections
Alternative Versions
Conceptually similar
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras
ECUADOR, 2025. FAO staff visit Andean chakras 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system
ECUADOR, 2025. View of Andean Chakra, an ancestral agricultural system 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize
ECUADOR, 2025. Harvesting maize 
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony 
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking fava beans
ECUADOR, 2025. Cooking fava beans 
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony
ECUADOR, 2025. Women farmers participate in ancestral harvest gratitude ceremony 
ECUADOR, 2025. Holding various native maize varieties
ECUADOR, 2025. Holding various native maize varieties 
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC 
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC 
Action button
Similar tones
similar-image
similar-image
similar-image
similar-image
View images with similar tones
Action button
 Add to collection
 Download
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province 
09 July 2025. Cotacachi, Ecuador. Cows grazing in an Andean chakra (traditional agroecological plot) on the slopes of the Cotacachi Volcano. Livestock farming, integrated with diversified crop cultivation, plays a vital role in the food systems and livelihoods of Indigenous families, while preserving ecological balance and ancestral land stewardship. 
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
File size 7.88 MB 
Unique ID UF1ADT6 
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.