United Nations FAO accreditedGlobally Important Agricultural Heritage SystemsIn February 2023, the Chakra System of the Ecuadorian Amazon was certified. (Andean region also)

mamano is“Creating a world full of smiles with chocolate”Since 2013, with the goal ofFormed a partnership with the indigenous (quichua) union of the Amazon region of EcuadorWe also import cacao and guayusa tea grown in traditional chakra (traditional agroforestry farming), and manufacture and sell chocolate in Japan.

Everything that Mamano handlesChocolate and crops imported directly from local cooperatives such as guayusa tea, lemongrass, Ecuadorian cinnamon and vanilla beansis cultivated by the Chakra System and we are very pleased that Chakra has been recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

Chakra is a traditional farming method and lifestyle cultivated by the indigenous Quichua people for many years.

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems: Two new sites recognized in Ecuador’s Andes and Amazon regions
Global Important Agricultural Heritage Systems: Two new areas of Ecuador's Amazon and Andes have been recognized.
(All the following are translated into Japanese by Ezawa)

ROME - Two biodiverse agricultural and agroforestry systems (chakras) in the Ecuadorian Andes and Amazon have been declared Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). rice field.

The regions were designated at the online meeting of the GIAHS Scientific Advisory Committee held this week (February 13-16). The selection criteria stipulate that the site is of global importance in supporting food and livelihood security, unique agricultural biodiversity, ancestral knowledge systems, social values and culture, and scenic beauty.

Ecuadorian chakras have spread through the collective activities of indigenous peoples to ensure sustainable management of natural resources and food sovereignty for centuries. “80% of the chakras are managed by indigenous women, locally called chakra mama, who use their precious traditional knowledge to promote the dynamic conservation, sustainable use and daily use of these places. ,” said FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo.

With this GIAHS registration, FAO's Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Network now consists of 74 systems in 24 countries around the world.

traditional farming system

The Quichua Indigenous Andean Chakra is located at an altitude of 2500-3400m in the Cotacachi Mountains of the Andes and is characterized by the integration and interconnection of climate, ecosystems, farming methods and biodiversity.

The chakras are central to the material and symbolic development of life for Kichwa families and communities, and are underpinned by a wealth of ancestral knowledge that includes gastronomy, medicine, and rituals. The region is considered one of the largest and best preserved areas of agricultural biodiversity in Ecuador and the Andes, and is key to preserving its unique crop diversity.

Utilizing mountain plateaus of different elevations to cultivate species with different needs, contributing to food security and sovereignty, nutrition, medicine, ornamentation, fuel and fodder, as well as cultural uses, handicrafts and tools. It also contributes to production. In Cotacachi, this system has enabled in situ conservation of seeds and varieties such as maize, beans, quinoa and potatoes. These are primarily for community self-consumption. However, the small surplus is sold as a source of family income, making it an important livelihood for the community and a means of economic empowerment and independence for women.

The Quichua, the indigenous people of the Andes, have developed a cognitive system in relation to their environment, called "Pachamama" in the Quichua language. This comprehensive knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, forming a unique and living system. And it contains signs, symbols, concepts and perceptions for using and sustainably managing local ecosystems for family, community and cultural life.

Land use model for sustainable agroforestry farming

The Chakra of the Amazon is a sustainable agroforestry land-use model in which productive sites within plantations are managed by families through an organic and biodiversity-rich approach, providing multiple services to people. is.

Here, the Kichuwa and Kiju tribes grow cocoa for timber, fruit, medicinal, handicraft, edible, and ornamental species, as well as other activities such as hunting, timber and non-timber forest products, and a polyculture crop system. has developed. The Amazon chakra has a spatial design pattern with distinct stages in the temporal management cycle, mimicking the natural processes of forest succession and restoration within the Amazon biome.

Aimed at efficiently managing the less fertile soils of the Amazon, the system is unique in its integration of forest and watershed management, with communities developing a range of agroforestry to ensure shade and soil. are being placed and practiced. Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in the concept as it could enable smallholder farmers to make agriculture more resilient to climate change and economic and market changes.

Although the Amazon has long been defined as an unexplored and underutilized area, the fact is that agriculture has been developed for thousands of years and countless rainforest varieties have been cultivated and exploited. Based on Peppers (Capsicum spp.), beans (legumes), cassava (Manihot esculenta), sweet potatoes (Ipomea spp.), maize (Zea spp.), cacao (Theobroma spp.) and bush cacao (Herrania spp.).

These have made the Kichwa community truly guardians of the rainforest through sustainable practices and ecologically harmonious lifestyles. It is widely recognized that indigenous peoples have a significant role to play in mitigation, adaptation and recovery efforts to protect biodiversity, forests, languages and traditional knowledge and to combat global climate change.