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ECUADOR 2025. Wide shot of Cuicocha lake, formed in a volcano crater
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR 2025. Lake San Pablo, the largest lake in the Imbabura province
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
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. Kichwa farmer cutting maize stalks
ECUADOR, 2025. Cotacachi region in Imbabura Province
ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Martha, the first woman president of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Maize grown by Kichwa community
ECUADOR, 2025. Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO Goodwill Ambassador with member of the Women’s Committee of UNORCAC
ECUADOR, 2025. Kichwa farmer cutting maize stalks
ECUADOR, 2025. Kichwa farmer cutting maize stalks
ECUADOR, 2025. Hand holding corn seed
ECUADOR, 2025. Recently harvested plantain
ECUADOR, 2025. Kichwa farmer cutting maize stalks
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ECUADOR, 2025. Wide shot of the Imbabura Volcano
08 July 2025. Imbabura, Ecuador. Landscape view of Imbabura Volcano, a sacred mountain for the Kichwa communities of Cotacachi.
07/08/2025
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
UNFAO Source
FAO Photo Library
File size
9.42 MB
Unique ID
UF1ADPJ
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.