FAO Digital Media Hub - ECUADOR, 2025. Maria is a member of the El Cercado women’s savings group

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

09 July 2025. El Cercado, Ecuador. María Alegría Arapí (70), member of the El Cercado women’s savings group, walks home after the group’s monthly meeting. As one of the elder members, she embodies the wisdom and resilience that sustain collective initiatives rooted in solidarity, care, and community empowerment in Cotacachi.

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

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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.